Even though the first few days of college were a blur for Neil Mahesh Chitrao, one moment in particular stands out: when he met Aastha Wadhwa during the convocation ceremony for the Cornell undergraduate class of 2017. “I remember introducing myself to Aastha, and my first impression was that she was very self-confident and very…
Walter Smith-Randolph said he was interested in LeAnne Armstead from the moment he met her at a 2005 barbecue hosted by Villanova University’s Black Cultural Society. But it was a long, long, long time before anything came of it. “I was 12 years a friend,” he said. The two became friendly, a little closer than…
He went on to share what he knew about me. “Dinushka has been a kind, loving, caring and thoughtful child, and she has found an equally kind, loving, caring and thoughtful partner in Nikkya,” he said. Her father’s words suggested that he saw me, his daughter-in-law, the same way he saw his daughter. My mouth…
Eating, or rather being able to eat whatever you like, whether sumptuous or spartan, can be a means of exerting control. Sometimes this manifests as culinary tourism, dabbling in the foods of other cultures or classes, with the assurance of knowing you can always retreat to the safety of your own. I’ve never forgotten a…
During the months when you can’t be outside working in the garden, what could be better than a miniature landscape that sits in your living room? Just remember, as you put the finishing touches on your first terrarium and celebrate by cuing the chorus of “It’s a Small World (After All)”: This is a tiny…
The American Museum of Natural History raised about $3 million at its annual fall gala on Nov. 18, with 450 guests dining under the big blue whale in the Hall of Ocean Life. As usual, there was a large contingent of “Saturday Night Live” cast members. (Lorne Michaels, the show’s longtime producer, sits on the…
Name: Brandon Kyle Goodman Age: 34 Hometown: New York City Now lives: In a one-bedroom apartment in Hollywood with his husband, Matthew Raymond-Goodman, and their dog, Korey. Claim to fame: Mr. Goodman is an actor and writer best known for “Big Mouth,” an adult animated sitcom on Netflix about preteens surviving puberty. He is the…
Rebekah Headen fell in love with Tony Hernandez years before she actually met him. Not only that, it was love at first sight. “Where did you get that beautiful painting?” Ms. Headen, 57, who is known as Becky, recalled asking a neighbor who had moved from Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C., where she lives, in 2001.…
Dr. Neal Frederic Kassell and Meredith Jung-En Woo, best of friends for years, were ambivalent about marriage as recently as three months ago. But on Sept. 9, while sitting next to each other on an airplane in relative silence, Dr. Kassell leaned over to say something to Ms. Woo, who was reading a book. “Hey,…
It didn’t take long for Melissa Shields to envision a future with Holly Lorka after they met in July 2019. When Ms. Shields got home that night, she had what she calls “clicks,” or pictures in her head of all the things the two might do together, like get married, have children and even be…