I’m With Stupid: Life in the Here and Now

Several weeks ago, fate moved its huge hand, and I found myself at a scrap metal yard in the East Bronx. The business was not too far from where I attended high school many moons ago. Naturally, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to return to the hallowed grounds of Cardinal Spellman for a look-see, perhaps for the final time. While the building’s exterior footprint was largely unchanged from my time there, the facade appeared seedier. Forty-five years and counting will do that. Some of the school’s brickwork was painted over—a slap-job white, probably to mask graffiti. Even the school’s special-occasion-entry bronze doors had lost their luster. And, alas, the little chapel and convent out back looked forlorn. Once upon a time, the nuns who taught at Cardinal Spellman lived there. They were Sisters of Charity, an order which announced in 2023 the end of new memberships and thus its death knell.

The world has certainly changed since I rode the not-so-special “special busses” to and from high school. When I picked up my diploma after graduating in the waning days of June 1980, Mr. Cleary, dean of discipline, shook my hand and wished me well. Jimmy Carter was the president then and not anticipating losing his reelection bid to Ronald Reagan in November. And, I daresay, not anticipating living to be one hundred. Carter passed away in December. 

During my school years, I was an inveterate collector of countless things, including autographed photos of politicians—members of Congress, governors, mayors, and more. Typically, I would write a brief letter of praise—often faux praise—to a public servant and climax with a request for an autographed picture. I was absolutely non-partisan in my collecting. At the time, I could have named every United States Senator and every state’s governor. Nowadays, I can’t make that claim, largely because I’ve zoned out and lost respect for most office holders. The men and women that I do know are often infamous in my eyes for one reason or another. Hanging a photo of Josh Hawley, Chris Murphy, or J.B. Pritzker on my wall is the last thing I’d want to do. I even wrote to Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and got an autographed photo back. Marco Rubio’s John Hancock? I’ll pass on that.

We live in stupid times now. I wish I could say otherwise. In 1980, I couldn’t imagine the world of today, nor would I have wanted to. Every day brings something new and stupid. In fact, the roster of stupid defies belief sometimes, but it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Today’s leading idiocy is courtesy of Taylor Lorenz, who was recently employed by the New York Times—the "paper of record." She tweeted: “‘You don’t have enough respect for the sanctity of 9/11’ is such a ridiculously out of touch and frankly boomer ass take in 2025. 9/11 has been a punchline for over a decade, ppl are having 9/11 themed parties and there are 9/11 parody t shirts and memes all over.” Well, this boomer ass take of mine thinks you are pathetically uninformed, vile, and in need of major psychological help. Does anybody know of anyone who has thrown a 9/11 themed party? A punchline? Sadly, this woman speaks for a lot of dunderheads out there.

Okay, so maybe Joe Biden wasn’t one of the worst presidents of all time—because he wasn’t actually functioning as president. Yes, the Biden family has fed from the influence-peddling trough for a long, long time. But many of the same folk who rightfully cited the Biden brood corruption think it’s peachy keen for Donald Trump to accept an airplane from a foreign country that sponsors Islamic terrorism. Not a peep about the peddling of pardons of no-goods for cash. It’s out in the open for sure, but corrupt and unethical just the same. I won’t mention the sale of worthless meme coins with Trump’s scowling image on them, which will enrich his family and few others. You can’t make this stuff up.

On the local scene in these incredibly stupid times: I just voted by absentee ballot in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. We have rank-choice voting now—one through five. The candidates running who I knew something about, I deemed—by and large—unacceptable. Brad Lander, Scott Stringer, and Zohran Mamdani didn’t rank with me. The latter—a state assemblyman from Queens—is a card-carrying socialist proposing a series of unrealistic and ridiculous freebies, including a rent freeze, eliminating bus fares, city-run grocery stores, and raising the city minimum wage to $30/hour! In lieu of additional policing, Mamdani believes public safety can be enhanced by “dignified work, economic stability, and well-resourced neighborhoods.” Yada, yada, yada—where have I heard that progressive pablum before? I never thought it possible that I’d say this, but the disgraced Andrew Cuomo is the pick of a very bad litter. At least he understands the basics of governing. And to think when I was in high school, the 1977 Democratic mayoral primary featured bona fide heavyweights like Ed Koch, Mario Cuomo, incumbent Abe Beame, Herman Badillo, Percy Sutton, and Bella Abzug. Talk about a real choice.

What stupidity will tomorrow bring? It’s hard to top the Homeland Secretary being unaware of the meaning of habeas corpus, or the latest kooky conspiratorial podcaster getting an administration job. Love this headline: “GOP Bill Would Force D.C. to Call Its Metro the ‘Trump Train’.” Rest assured, the sun will rise tomorrow and further stupidity with it.

(Photos from the personal collection of Nicholas Nigro)