Essays

Memoirs, recollections, and stories.

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Remembering Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez (Apr 5, 2024; 5 min read at Human Parts)
The diva from “Diva” anchors my playlist of treasured songs.

The Great Christmas-Tree Hunt (Dec 15, 2023; 8 min read at Crow’s Feet)
The difficulties of procuring a reasonably priced tree in the city.

Childhood Heroes — One Famous, One Not — Died on the Same Day (Nov 2, 2023; 5 min read at The Memoirist)
The confluence of the lives of Uncle Jorge and soccer great, Bobby Charlton.

They Only Come Out at Noon (Jun 27, 2023; 5 min read at Crow’s Feet)
Observations while walking around during the work day.

No Easy Pass (Jan 31, 2023; 5 min read at Crow’s Feet)
Looking for second chances to make up for memory lapses.

Starman to Future Legend — Parlando di David Bowie in Cinque Terre. Capisci? (Jan 8, 2023; 7 min read at The Memoirist)

Recalling the Schaefer Jingle in the Age of Gambling Ads (Aug 7, 2022; 3 min read)
Recalling a favorite commercial in the age of gambling ads.

A Trip to the Fair at Huellas Magazine (Jul 20, 2022; 20 min read)
Translation to Spanish: Un viaje a la feria at Huellas Magazine (Aug 10, 2022; 20 min read)
A 1964 road trip from Miami to the World’s Fair in Flushing, New York.

Montauk Bookstore Goes Missing: A Parting at The End (May 13, 2022; 4 min read at The Memoirist)
A beloved bookstore on the Montauk Circle weighs anchor.

The Little Things (Mar 19, 2022; 6 min read)
A pervasive jitteriness lingers over the city, two years after lockdown.

The Encyclopedia Salesman’s House Call (Feb 17, 2022; 3 min read)
The irresistible scent of new books bewitched my father. (On My Father)

Sidney Poitier’s Sir (Jan 7, 2022; 2 min read)
Reflecting on the death of a twentieth century cultural icon.

Selected for the Memoir Monday, Nov 29, 2021 issue:
Transcendence of Witnessing (orig. Jun 20, 2021)

An Early October Meditation (Oct 2, 2021; 2 min read)
Dog business on a Saturday morning walkabout.

My Day of Edgar Allan Poe (Sep 14, 2021; 3 min read)
Coincidences, I admire them indeed!

Transcendence of Witnessing: An Immigrant’s Odyssey Reaches the Last Stop (Jun 20, 2021; in The LatinX Project’s Intervenxions)
A funeral evokes childhood memories in Astoria, Queens, and the immigrant families that huddled for support in their new country.

Punching Air (Jun 4, 2021; 4 min read)
Coronavirus isn’t our only affliction.

Burmese Generals Are Never Too Far (Mar 14, 2021; 3 min read)
My grade-school paper put Myanmar on the map

Reprinted at KoreanAmericanStory.org (Feb 27, 2021):
Assembling the Sunday New York Times at the Choi’s (orig. Aug 28, 2020)

“I’m in Love with My Car” (Feb 15, 2021; 6 min read)
My father’s fascination with automobiles. (On My Father)

A Forty-Minute Reverie: My Commute for the Pandemic (Jan 8, 2021; 12 min read)
A trek through the Manhattan grid eases into a groove.

Appreciating Thanksgiving (Nov 26, 2020; 3 min read)
Thanksgiving during the coronavirus of 2020.

My Teacher Excels at Spreading Joy (Oct 24, 2020; 6 min read)
A reunion, fifty-two years in the making, confirms his life’s passion.

Ode to Lily, A Black Cat Who Went to Heaven (Sep 7, 2020; 6 min read)
A humorous look back at how Lily, who was family for 16 years, took over and protected her territory with fierceness, before mellowing out her last few years.

My Korean American Story (Aug 28, 2020; 5 min read)
Assembling the Sunday New York Times at the Choi’s.
A touching full-length movie, Happy Cleaners (trailer), from KoreanAmericanStory.org reminded me of my own Korean American story, albeit, from a different perspective.

Summer Relief (Jul 17, 2020; 8 min read)
Life-long lessons from first summer job.
A look back at my crazy first summer job. Yes, we napped on Brooks Brothers suits during lunch — but that had nothing to do with them going bankrupt. That and other tales from the factory floor.

A Fountain of Hope from 1968 (Jul 1, 2020; 5 min read)
You can learn a lot from a play by fifth graders.
Recalling our fifth grade class play in 1968 amidst the turmoil of that year. The teachers’ lessons of love and peace and of equality and individuality apply to the challenges of 2020.

The Great Figure 5 (Jun 15, 2020; 3 min read)
What’s in a name? Looking up a painting at the Met leads to an unexpected connection.

What a Difference a Year Makes (Mar 1, 2020; 5 min read; originally in P.S. I Love You) The passage of time opens a new perspective on life.

Dad’s Staff Reviews (Feb 15, 2020; 3 min read)
On this day, my father asked me to be his assistant.

Apologies to a New Journal (Dec 3, 2019; 2 min read in Lit Up)
You know how hard is to let go of the old worn-in journal and choose the right one to replace it.

Talking Chimps (May 23, 2019; 4 min read)
Experiments with chimps and other sentient beings.

Crossing Queens Ferry (posted May 3, 2019; 5 min read)
Recalling Walt Whitman’s ferry ride across the East River during a turbulent tide.

The Accident at P.S. 122Q (posted Feb. 18, 2019; 3 min read)
On this day, my father was a hero.

Chloe, Zoe, and Elmo Take Flight (posted May 18, 2018; 4 min read)
It’s hard to travel with a kid, especially one that is not yours.

Riding a Heatwave Home (posted Nov. 28, 2017)
After a visit to my ailing father on the occasion of his birthday, decompressing on the ride home.

So Long, Astoria (posted Nov. 15, 2017; selected for medium.com’s LEVEL)
It’s moving day. Mom’s the last of our immigrant family of seven to move out of Astoria.

Fixing a Hole (posted Nov. 18, 2014; 9 min read)
A crazy finish to the July 4th weekend closes with a greeting from Paul McCartney outside Lenox Hill Hospital after my son’s injury (the hole) gets treatment.

Tips for Watching World Cup Fútbol on Univision (Jun 30, 2014; 3 min read)
Tips for watching and understanding the World Cup broadcasts on Univision, the Spanish language network. Key idioms for Brazil 2014 World Cup

See medium.com/matiz.