Altimexis - Stories

James was excited at the opportunity for a research fellowship in Paris. How romantic it could be, except that he had no one with whom to share it, and he didn’t speak any French. He's instantly drawn to another young American, Chris, who’s doing an apprenticeship with one of the foremost experts on restoring musical instruments. Saddened that they must go their separate ways, a near-death experience shows them both what matters most.

Drawn from real events in the life of the author, modified to suit a young gay audience.

A Summer in Iowa is based on two key times in the author's life. In 1968, the author turned 12 and began junior high. It was a tumultuous time in which protests rocked America and MLK and RFK were assassinated. Fast forward to 1972, when the author turned 16 and was in high school. The author experienced his first time on his own while attending a summer science program at the University of Iowa. Although the romantic aspects of the story are fictional, much of the rest of the story is based on real events. A Summer in Iowa also serves as a prequel to the modern-day story in the author's New York Stories series, Reminiscing About the Future.

In 1969, when I was 13, my parents and I set out on an adventure. We took the California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco. My mom refused to fly and there wasn't time to drive during my winter school break. Besides which, highways could be treacherous in the winter. Nothing was going to keep us from seeing my new nephew, but the train was much more than a means of transportation.

This story is autobiographical, but some memories have faded and where necessary, I've embellished things to make the story more complete. Even so, this is an accurate portrayal of an experience that has stayed with me for more than 50 years.

The impact of the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 was felt around the world, but in few places more than in New York City. Not only is New York home to the second-largest Jewish population in the world, but it’s home to peoples of many cultures, including a large Arab American population. In my New York Stories, New York Holidays and New York Anthologies series, I’ve introduced characters who might well have been in Israel at the time of the attack. October Fire is a 6-part story about Jewish and Palestinian New Yorkers who persevered in the face of hate.

The invitation to spend a week of sightseeing in Washington, D.C. seemed like a great idea to Kyle. With his good friend, Seth, interning in Congress, it was a great opportunity for him and his boyfriend to see things most tourists didn't see. Kyle thought he'd fully recovered from the injuries he’d sustained three years earlier, but then a series of encounters forced him to recall a time he’d long thought he'd put behind him.

What do Bar Mitzvahs and food carts have in common? Nothing… unless you’re talking about a precocious young teen with a Jewish boyfriend and a best friend who's half black Cajun and half Asian, and who’s a gifted teenage chef. With a double Bar Mitzvah on the Fourth of July weekend, why not make it a pool party? Oy Vey!

While attending a Memorial Day 18th birthday party, Seth is asked by a friend's brother about being interviewed for his high school newspaper. The interview brings back vivid memories of serving as a Congressional intern and being trapped inside the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Asher and Seth just graduated from New York's top public high school. With so much to celebrate, their parents throw them a surprise party, where they meet new friends. The son of a black Creole father and an Asian American mother, Asher has developed his own style of Cajun-Asian fusion that has earned him a reputation as one of New York's top chefs. The son of a politician, Seth plans to follow in his father's footsteps. Both boys will begin college in the fall, but first there is an opportunity to help Asher's parents realize their dream of opening new restaurant.

Larry was the son of a famous opera singer and a well-known conductor, but his passion in life was to be a medical scientist. However, when the pandemic waylaid his plans to go to the Bronx High School of Science, instead he applied to LaGuardia, New York's premier public high school of the arts. Just as an intermezzo is a short musical bridge, Intermezzo brings together characters from other stories in the New York Stories series while filling in some gaps. Told from the point of view of Larry's girlfriend, Robin, he learns that sometimes the shortest path to one's goals isn't the straightest one.

Born with hereditary spastic paraparesis, Simon had spent most of his life in a wheelchair, unable to walk and barely able to use his hands. To his parents, home schooling had seemed to be the only way for Simon to get an education; yet Simon was smart and yearned to be another Stephen Hawking - not to live with his parents until they became to infirm to care for him. He decided to take a chance on applying to the Bronx High School of Science, one of the best public secondary schools in the world. Going to a public high school would be scary, but there'd be new opportunities to live life, and to love.