Episode 43: Fixing education, middle school hoops, Houston vs. NYC, and male friendship in your 30s

The Blunder Years

I started doing Teach for America in mid-June 2003. It was still about two weeks before LeBron would even be drafted into the NBA. The previous summer, the Knicks had made the second round of the NBA playoffs -- and I don’t think they have been back to that round since. As of mid-June 2003, I think the only time I had been to Texas was a layover in DFW Airport. So I moved down there with a bunch of preconceived notions and no idea what I was in for in terms of teaching in the inner-city, and one of the first kids (we were all kids at the time, like 22 or so) I met was named Dave. He was also from the general Northeast, a Knicks fan, etc. We became friends. 17 summers later, we still talk periodically, so we taped this podcast and talk about a bunch of different stuff, from fixing education to middle-school basketball to the difference between living in Houston and living in NYC (it’s not as big as you think). At the end, we talk about male friendships in your 30s. Dave actually still teaches, and went from Houston back to NYC. I went from Houston back to CT and NYC, then back to Texas but in the DFW area. Life is weird, and maybe this conversation underscores that. Let’s get to it.