PJ Media

When I was about 16, I answered an ad for ‘receptionist – part time’ in the Village Voice. The interview took place in a tony East Side of Manhattan brownstone. The man who interviewed me was in his 30′s, dapper and a bit manic – quirky – dressed in black. I dressed like a schoolgirl going to a job interview. Quite a contrast. He made it very clear from the beginning of the interview that the company that he was hiring for was a high-class brothel. I was a bit surprised, but was curious and stuck around to see what would unfold. We ended up having a long conversation about our different views of life (all the while clients were coming and going, and women were walking in and out half naked and disposing of used underwear…). I think he was fascinated to meet someone who was everything that he was not – young, optimistic, innocent of heart, believing in love… He told me at one point that ‘I was the type that was expecting a knight to ride in on a white horse’. I laughed but did not argue with that. At another point in the conversation, he noted (quite rightly) that I was totally in his power – he could do anything he wanted to me. I simply agreed with that point (after all, I was alone – a petite, young teen) and let the conversation move elsewhere. When we walked back out on the street (I never looked at innocent-looking brownstones quite the same after that) he told me that if I wanted he could ‘really make something out of me’. I told him that I took it as a compliment – but he was already clear enough on my outlook on life to realize that I would not want to become a prostitute, nor would I even be a secretary in the brothel. It just wasn’t my style (and not out of a sense of conservatism – I was a modern manhattan girl – it just wasn’t where I saw myself headed). When we parted, he kissed me on the forehead… kind of a tender gesture. I think maybe I represented to him everything that he once was and would not easily be again… I think I touched him – I wondered at the time if meeting me and talking for so long(he kept on insisting as we talked that nobody got his time – and wondered why he wanted to talk to me – a schoolgirl… and then he would continue the conversation)I wondered if talking to me had some gentling/comforting effect on him… It is interesting – now I am a grown woman and looking back I see how hard it is when you choose that longer road – when you take the path of pursuing your dreams – professionally, personally. I am now finishing a phd (even after dropping out of high school the year of the above meeting due to family instability and a latent learning disability) and have been through one very bad marriage that I am thankfully out of. It is interesting – as hard as the road has been, I’m glad I took my path to pursue dreams, visions and hopes. At heart we are all who we always were, and in spite of many difficulties, I remain the optimistic and slightly romantic teen that turned down a lucrative career those years ago. Some visions take alot longer than others to bear fruit, and not everyone has the patience and tolerance for discomfort (and even suffering) to see their dreams and hopes through….. Thanks for listening to my rather long reminiscence. P.S. – Thank you for a wonderful article.