CHARACTERS 52 | BOROMAG.COM | NOVEMBER 2014 2 CharacterStory by Michael Stahl | Image by Bradley Hawks Nancy Ruhling has not interviewed movie stars or professional athletes or dignitaries or anyone who’s walked the surface of the moon. At least not for her weekly Huffington Post New York blog, entitled Astoria Characters. Instead, Ruhling profiles “The Pharmacist,” “The Cryptic Undertaker,” “The Painted Lady With the Pink Poodle,” “The Young Man Looking For Love,” and in an unrelated story, “The Girl Fumi Fell For.” Her subjects just live in her neighborhood—and might simply be seen as ordinary folks. But to Ruhling, they are “insanely interesting.” “Regardless of who the person is—they all have stories that are inspiring,” Ruhling explains. “They all have hardships that they get through, and at the end of the day, they’re all very happy with their lives.” After accepting a newspaper job in Long Island and moving there from her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. in the eighties, Ruhling discovered Western Queens while on assignment. She greatly appreciated the tremendous diversity among the area’s residents, so when she decided to write strictly on a freelance basis nine years ago, her decision to settle in Astoria was a no-brainer. She sat on her porch waving to passersby, and Ruhling was pleasantly surprised to find that her new neighbors would wave back, which was something the Show-Me State native didn’t experience quite as much out on the Island. For four years, she continued to build her portfolio while getting to know the locals, and then a friend notified her that the Huffington Post was creating a New York page on their site. She recalls him explaining, “It might be a good idea to cover all the crazy people from your neighborhood that you’re always telling me about.” Frustrated that most media outlets refused to publish what she calls ‘forgotten stories’ of everyday people, Ruhling made an inquiry to the Huffington Post and was amazed to have the column accepted, especially by a site best known for political commentary. Since then she has published more than two hundred fifty profiles of Astorians who hail from numerous states and foreign countries. She often learns of prospective subjects from friends or readers, but sometimes Ruhling plucks people right off the street, getting rejected about nine out of every ten requests. Most of those who do agree to an interview are shocked that she even asked. “They say, ‘Reaaaally? My life’s not that interesting,’” Ruhling says, her eyes widening in imitation. Though she would never call a single subject a favorite, Ruhling ranks “The Veteran Survivor”—a ninety-three-year-old man named Attilio—as one of the most intriguing. Attilio fought for Italy in World War II, both before and after his homeland had an allegiance with the Axis Powers. He saved several of his fellow servicemen after a disastrous and deadly battle against the Germans, and then went AWOL, hitching a ride on a cargo ship headed to America, a country he was once tasked with fighting against. “It’s like the immigrant’s dream,” Ruhling observes. “He came here with nothing, and now he owns a house and has had three children. That was quite a dramatic story.” Ruhling isn’t sure how long the blog will last. “Ideally I’d love to get to a thousand people,” she says. “Really what I want to do is turn this into a sitcom.” Whether or not we’ll see the Astoria Characters in primetime has yet to be determined, but more importantly, Ruhling credits the blog with making her truly feel like part of the neighborhood. So if you see her on the street, wave hello. But be prepared for the possibility of ending up on a blog. Visit www.NancyRuhling.com to read about all of her “Astoria Characters” and find some of her other written work as well. The Original Astor ia
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