Author Archive
“Save My Kid”
In Edward Whelan’s Lindenhurst yard, he hands me a small plastic packet of heroin. His smile, which I’ve written about before—the one that lights up the room—is tinged with doubt. It’s a nice almost-fall day and the sun has already forgotten how to scorch, but Edward, who has been shooting heroin again after stopping for several months, is sweating slightly.
Class Action
It’s back-to-school time, and in order to be properly prepared, there are a few items you’ll need to get: school supplies, new clothes, bus pass, lunch box—and a lawyer.
For many families with children who have special needs, that might just be the agenda.
Junk Bonds
Carol Whelan, a nurse, sits on her couch in her cramped, middle-class Cape home in Lindenhurst, occupied by a laughing parrot, two dogs and a monkey. She shakes her head sadly. “The truth is,” she says, “I’m getting tired of going to so many funerals of young people.”
Long Highland
They had all the proof they needed that they were fighting a real war.
Recently, two detectives from the Nassau County narcotics/vice squad went for a quick bite at a county line area bagel store. Both are seasoned veterans, having fought the darker side of suburban life for some years.
Pay Attention
Don: “OK, Lauren, pay attention. The War of 1812 was fought by the United States against the United Kingdom and its colonies when President James Madison sent his war message to Congress. When was the war?”
Lauren: “1932?”
Quirky
Betty Marie is 16. She can really be annoying.
First, you must call her Betty Marie. “It is not Betty,” she says matter-of-factly. “It is Betty Marie.”
