How You Should Trust More. And Less
It’s a solid path to a sense of security … and an illusion. Here’s how to navigate the fantasy and the necessity of trust
My good friend and art critic, Brian Boucher, once unwittingly shared an apartment with one of America’s Most Wanted. The man made a neat and friendly impression when he viewed Brian’s extra room, seemed reliable and respectful, and just happened to turn out a fugitive diamond thief. The mastermind in the biggest jewel heist in San Francisco history. He always paid on time, kept quiet, and sometimes would be gone for days. Brian could have been in roommate heaven had it not been for that series of peculiar events, including the day he found a manila envelope in his sublet’s room packed with Brian’s personal information. In the end, my friend found himself on the witness stand in a San Francisco courtroom, being asked about what he knew of the ten-million-dollar theft. After the trial, Brian flew home to his Manhattan apartment, got online, and searched for a new roommate on Craigslist — the very site that delivered a diamond thief into his home.
Brian is, as I, a New Yorker — we can’t afford not to trust, and not just for financial reasons. New York City is what happens when you pen up the full range of human beings this planet has to offer on a few small…
