In Remembrance of Things Lost

"Thad Gordon’s life had been on a downward trajectory since his family moved from Walpole, Massachusetts to East Hampton, New York. He wanted to slip through the cracks and be forgotten. He listlessly haunted the city, a ghost among the chaos and cacophony, a forgotten boy lurking in the shadows of the greatest show on earth. He sat on stoops, in parks, libraries, coffee shops, alleyways, and subways, observing the great rush of humanity in the streets: beggars, mad men, drug dealers, lovers, friends, dogs, children being pampered by nannies, ants carting off pieces of cinnamon roll, joy, indifference, and hate. The city was a great confluence of stories, millions of people stacked up in great hives buzzing and flitting here and there. Where are they all going? How did they end up in this city? When did their families come to America? When the sun broke through afternoon clouds in heavenly rays, how many noticed? How did they feel? This is the story of one of those people, a story about coming to the edge of the abyss and peering in. "