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Jenna Park's avatar

I was really excited to see photos of Lenny again and he literally did not age from the time I interviewed him 12 years ago. His museum looks just the way I remember it, though I think the cricket in the yard is new. I think there were dinosaur sculptures last time? My memory fails me. But what a character! Truly unique and the best of random NYC hidden gems.

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Anne Kadet's avatar

Thanks so much for the tip, Jenna. Yes, I don't think he's done anything in the way of art since you spoke with him and for me that just made it even better!

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Nathaniel :)'s avatar

> As readers who memorize this newsletter before they print it out and eat it will recall,

Absolutely unhinged to just drop this with no warning or follow-up, I love it

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Anne Kadet's avatar

*N*A*T*H*A*N*I*E*L*

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Justin Difazzio's avatar

Lenny seems uninhibited and bonkers in the BEST way. God bless you, Lenny, you robot-building-then-maybe-crushing muffler man!

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Anne Kadet's avatar

LOL

I can't wait for the follow-up story, Justin, when I interview him from inside the ball.

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We Are Already Here's avatar

Lenny is crushing it! Literally, and metaphorically 😊

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Anne Kadet's avatar

I know Eric I can't even separate the two!

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Rob Stephenson's avatar

Wow, I love this guy! I can’t believe in all my years of traversing Staten Island I’ve never noticed the 20 foot Eiffel Tower replica right on the edge of street! Definitely need to visit Lennie’s Creations before they are gone.

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Anne Kadet's avatar

That's true Rob. It won't be quite the same experience when everything is crushed into a 20-foot ball.

I think you'd LOVE photographing the block the museum is located on btw. It's all auto repair and looks like no other place in the city. Rector Street between Castleton Ave. and Richmond Terrace.

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Emily Anonymous's avatar

Lenny, when the time is right, please invite us all to your epic crushing party!!!!!!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

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Anne Kadet's avatar

Whoa I didn't think of the party possibilities, Emily. Epic is right!

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Raquel Uy's avatar

I love Lenny’s outlook for business - “You pick how you want to make money in life. You can pick the hard way or the easy way," - this alone is worth a commencement speech for all the graduates out there.

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Anne Kadet's avatar

It's funny how many pick the hard way, Raquel. There's this weird sense of pride and virtue. I personally prefer the easy way. Or at least the fun way.

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Raquel Uy's avatar

Me too, will definitely go the fun and easy way👍👍 Let the ones who need to prove whatever virtue go the hard way😄

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Cori Carl's avatar

I wish Lenny had been my commencement speaker! Hopefully one of the NYC universities is calling him up to arrange this right now

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Mark Dolan's avatar

Couldn't resist reading today. "My Weirdest Art Story Ever" is an awfully unlikely hill to climb for this Newsletter. Loved the profile of Lenny. The mantis was the best. I always wondered why people did not reference to them as a preying mantis?

Random comment re: rex & appleton >> What's an appleton -- according to estimates about 44 bushels.

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Anne Kadet's avatar

Now that I think about it, how many "art stories" have I written? This is maybe the third in three years. So the hill is not very high!

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Mark Dolan's avatar

I am unwilling to do the research since I am officially retired. That said, a nominal Google search says there are 47 instances of search results of your blog that use the word "artist". Some are undoubtedly multiple references to the word I suppose. There's a non-zero chance you just like the word artist :)

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Anne Kadet's avatar

LOL

I’ll have to think about that one Mr. Dolan!

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Good Humor by CK Steefel's avatar

Lenny is wise. I love that he knows who he is. He doesn’t force himself to create. That’s admirable. I do love his success story tho.

Welding is hard! I once took a class.

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Anne Kadet's avatar

And he's totally cool with having put it aside, CK. I think others who are less wise would be torturing themselves about it.

Welding seems like a tough way to make art! Thanks for taking a class so I don't have to.

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OnTheOtterFoot's avatar

Another inspirational real story! I respect Lenny's right to crush his works, but I hope he delays the crushing indefinitely until we can all visit the museum! A correction: That's not a cricket, it's a praying mantis, "Francis the Praying Mantis" to be precise!

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Anne Kadet's avatar

Oh thank you OTOF! Fixed!

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Jules Torti's avatar

I see a few people have commented on behalf of Camp Praying Mantis! You'll laugh to know what I just googled "OTOF" to see what the acronym meant. Orthogonal Time of Flight? One Team One Fight. Otoferlin. Or, duh, @ontheotterfoot.

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Lucy Conway's avatar

So good. I’d like to say that Lenny’s and your reactions were unexpected delights, but I know by now that being delighted is completely expected when reading Cafe Anne!

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Anne Kadet's avatar

Awww thanks Lucy! I love hearing this!!!!

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O L O Bunny🐰aka Kevin's avatar

Another must for your ‘ Bedside Companion ‘ when you do it. 🐰

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Anne Kadet's avatar

Thank you O L O aka Kevin. Hopefully by then I can update with part 2—the Big Crush.

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Jen Dyck-Sprout's avatar

Fascinating profile, thank you!

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Anne Kadet's avatar

Glad you enjoyed Jen. Thank you!

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Leah's avatar

This is my favorite thing you have ever written about

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Anne Kadet's avatar

Haha me too Leah. I love it so much and can't even say why!

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Jules Torti's avatar

Well, when you go up in that Staten Island Space Shuttle, do take Katy Perry and Gayle King with you as they are seasoned!

And not to be one of 'those' people but...the "cricket" in the Snug Harbor photo is actually a praying mantis! I'm quite partial to them (and spend half my daily runs in October picking them off my running route). I hadn't seen any for years---they are like an insect unicorn (much like the walking stick) so it's wonderful to see their comeback. Might have something to do with Costco selling their eggs for natural insect control: https://www.costco.ca/praying-mantis-natural-insect-control-egg-case.product.10300216.html

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Anne Kadet's avatar

Fixed in the web version. Thank you Jules!

OMG, me, Katy Perry and Gayle King. Maybe I can just curl up with a novel in the back while they take care of the whole "mission" thing.

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Jules Torti's avatar

That seems safest all around. And you can read James Michener's 808-page novel Space. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/644949.Space

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Anne Kadet's avatar

What a good idea! I'm a huge Michener fan, Jules and read about two a year. Am currently half-way through Centennial.

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Jules Torti's avatar

I think you wrote about his book Texas last summer? And then coincidentally/cosmically I found a copy of it in one of our nearby free little libraries. I didn't realize you did a biannual read. His books are the equivalent of reading three!

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aa's avatar

This story had the best twist ever. It might be my favorite... after Dopamine Land, of course. At first you think it is going to be this nice but maybe familiar story of a blue collar guy doing his own non traditional art. But then he just STOPS. This is heartbreaking in a way it would not be if he was just the muffler ahop guy all along. But what is really heartbreaking is that he says he knew his drive would end. Lime it was foretold to him. And this should make it less heartbreaking but makes it more heartbreaking. And somehow you are left back with the boy from the jungle who just got into mufflera because it was there in front of him. For a few years he stepped outside of the paradigm of being a leaf in the wind, and then he is just back in it again lime he was never otherwise.

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Helen Barrell's avatar

I thought it was heartbreaking too! And that he wants to crush everything. Noooo! The world needs folk art. And I'm so sad he's lost the urge to create! 😭

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aa's avatar

(Perhaps i should not write comments on my phone just after having my eyes dilated, when i am rather blind to my own typos...)

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Anne Kadet's avatar

Loved your comment aa! And your summary. Except my reaction was the opposite.I felt delighted by the strangeness of him just stopping. Maybe because I really don't believe that this was actually the end. I think he's got another project in him for sure and it will be just as surprising for him as it is for us.

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aa's avatar

And BTW, I really do hope he crushes them all into a giant ball. Not with him in it, of course, but i do hope that his entire oeuvre is like a Buddhist sand mandala, taking years and years to make, and then is wiped away by his own hand. If he wants to make real $, make it an event that you pay to see live, and pay to watch online. And then i promise you and him, that giant ball would sell for a LOT of money (so that part is not so Buddhist, but whatevs)...

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Anne Kadet's avatar

Whoa brilliant suggestion!

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aa's avatar

It was not exactly him stopping that was heartbreaking; it was the casual way he always understood that the spirit would leave him one day. It is like he had foreknowledge of his creativity's death.

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Helen Barrell's avatar

Oooh, yes, I hope so! A fabulous Part 2 for his creativity!

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