reblog from Humans of New York

This blogger posts daily

about humans of New York.

His perspective and stories are fascinating.

Here's one from August 16th:

This man became very animated while discussing his ideas on happiness. He extended the index finger of each hand, and brought them very close together, as pictured: “Babies are happy with this much,” he said. “All they need is one ounce of milk.” Then he started to slowly widen the space between his fingers, until they were very far apart: “Adults,” he said, “are not even happy with this much.”
He pulled his fingers close together again: “You only need this to be happy,” he said.
Then he pulled them far apart again: “You do not need this.”

When I finished photographing the man in the previous post, he said: “Wait one second, I want to show you my father.” He went inside his store, and returned with this framed photograph.

"My father lost his entire family in Auschwitz when he was a young boy,” he explained. “After the war he moved to France. He went to a tie manufacturer and said ‘I will work for free, just teach me how to make ties.’ After a year of working there, he moved to America and got a job at a tie factory for 15 cents an hour. Soon he saved enough to buy his own ties, which he peddled on the streets. Then he saved up enough to open his own tie store. Then he started selling suits too. Eventually he opened five of his own stores.”
"Are they all still open?" I asked.
"No," he replied. "This is the last one left."

The store is Global International Menswear
62 Orchard Street on the Lower East Side.