• Quisicuaba
  • BLINDNESS
  • Olmedini El Mago
  • The Street Becomes
  • Yonkeros
  • El Sistema
  • Before the Eclipse
  • Beijing
  • Vota Así
  • The Completely Visible World
  • Tarzan Lopez
  • Manhattan Mincha Map
  • Beautiful Heart
  • Commissioned Projects
    • If I Ruled the World, 2011
    • The Jewish Identity Project :: La conversion de Carmen
    • Personal Archives
    • Highline
  • Artist Statements
    • Quisicuaba
    • BLINDNESS
    • Olmedini El Mago
    • The Street Becomes
    • YONKEROS
    • El Sistema
    • Before the Eclipse
    • VOTA ASI
    • The Completely Visible World
    • Tarzan Lopez
    • Manhattan Mincha Map
    • The Jewish Identity Project :: Carmen's essay
    • If I Ruled the World
    • "In Frame" Arirang TV - Episode One
    • "In Frame" Arirang TV - Episode Two
  • Media and Press
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Menu

JAIME PERMUTH

  • Quisicuaba
  • BLINDNESS
  • Olmedini El Mago
  • The Street Becomes
  • Yonkeros
  • El Sistema
  • Before the Eclipse
  • Beijing
  • Vota Así
  • The Completely Visible World
  • Tarzan Lopez
  • Manhattan Mincha Map
  • Beautiful Heart
  • Commissioned Projects
    • If I Ruled the World, 2011
    • The Jewish Identity Project :: La conversion de Carmen
    • Personal Archives
    • Highline
  • Artist Statements
    • Quisicuaba
    • BLINDNESS
    • Olmedini El Mago
    • The Street Becomes
    • YONKEROS
    • El Sistema
    • Before the Eclipse
    • VOTA ASI
    • The Completely Visible World
    • Tarzan Lopez
    • Manhattan Mincha Map
    • The Jewish Identity Project :: Carmen's essay
    • If I Ruled the World
    • "In Frame" Arirang TV - Episode One
    • "In Frame" Arirang TV - Episode Two
  • Media and Press
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
 
 
 
 

© Jaime Permuth, 2025

 

JAIME PERMUTH
FullSizeRender.jpg

To be 95

Added on May 4, 2019 by Jaime Permuth.

I spent my Friday afternoon sitting with three Chinese seniors in a small cafe on Pell Street.  The youngest one was in his late 80s; the oldest one 95.

 

The guys were twice my age and had known each other longer than I’ve been alive.  I asked Mr. Ling (95) how long he’d lived in the neighborhood.  They looked at each other with sheepish grins.  Then one of the friends laughed and said: “He’s Chinatown #1”.

 

They ordered plates of steamed chicken feet, sautéed snow peas with thick cut bacon and Cantonese sticky rice.  One of the guys brought out a pint bottle of Hennessy cognac in a brown bag and we drank straight glasses of that with the meal.  Toothpicks and cigarettes after that. 


Now I know what I want my life to look like when I’m in my 90s.

Tags Chinatown, seniors, New York, ageing, cognac, Leica, Cantonese, Pell Street, Hennessy, Jaime Permuth
← Newer: A single focus, two paths. Older: A late-in-life blooming →
Back to Top