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An Upper West Side Wish Come True

June 8, 2025 | 8:30 AM
in ABSURDITY, ART, COLUMNS
18

By Gary Martin

See? If you put your mind to it — you CAN achieve your goals!

* * *

Gary B. Martin is an illustrator and animator who has lived on the Upper West Side for more than 30 years. His illustrations appear in the Rag on Sundays, chronicling life in the neighborhood, New York City, and the Universe. See them all here. For a broader range of Gary’s work, including animations and other motion graphics, please visit www.martoons.com

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Please limit comments to 150 words and keep them civil and relevant to the article at hand. Comments are closed after six days. Our primary goal is to create a safe and respectful space where a broad spectrum of voices can be heard. We welcome diverse viewpoints and encourage readers to engage critically with one another’s ideas, but never at the expense of civility. Disagreement is expected—even encouraged—but it must be expressed with care and consideration. Comments that take cheap shots, escalate conflict, or veer into ideological warfare detract from the constructive spirit we aim to cultivate. A detailed statement on comments and WSR policy can be read here.

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18 Comments
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Sharon
Sharon
8 months ago

OMG, when asked, I used to say I wanted to be an adult…one day I’ll be one.

5
Reply
Jerry
Jerry
8 months ago

LOL!

5
Reply
Ellen T. White
Ellen T. White
8 months ago

I wanted to be a New Yorker!

7
Reply
Paula Sahli
Paula Sahli
8 months ago

It’s so true. We wanted to be older and now, looking back…be careful what you wish for. Great illustration!

6
Reply
Nina
Nina
8 months ago

GOAL ACHIEVED LOL!!

1
Reply
Melissa G
Melissa G
8 months ago

lol. Love this!

2
Reply
Neal Leibowitz
Neal Leibowitz
8 months ago

You must have been a sickly child. This old age thing is no fun at all.

2
Reply
nook
nook
8 months ago

In my mind I’m 29. My knees say otherwise. I’m just happy to be here!

8
Reply
Debfrombrooklyn
Debfrombrooklyn
8 months ago

I love this one too! I am an old woman and it’s just wonderful to be old!

3
Reply
Anne Watkins
Anne Watkins
8 months ago

Would love to have a more in depth interview with the Very young Gary Martin.

2
Reply
Elaine
Elaine
8 months ago

Yup! 👍 and here we are 👏👏👏👏

3
Reply
Laurie K
Laurie K
8 months ago

HAHAHAHA! That was a literal LOL ty!

2
Reply
Howie Cherpakov
Howie Cherpakov
8 months ago

Curtain up on Season 2! When you’re young, all you want to be is older and to stay up late. When you get older all, you want to be is younger and to be able to sleep at all :-

5
Reply
Nancy
Nancy
8 months ago
Reply to  Howie Cherpakov

Gary — you need to turn what Howie Cherpakov just said into a cartoon! That’s brilliant!

1
Reply
David
David
8 months ago

Happy you made it.

1
Reply
ecm
ecm
8 months ago

As a kid, I wanted to grow up to be a competent, dispassionate moderator.
Thankfully, I am well beyond that now.

0
Reply
Joe Chiplock
Joe Chiplock
8 months ago

Me, too! And I NAILED IT!

0
Reply
Therese Sargent Case
Therese Sargent Case
8 months ago

And I’m grateful to be an “old” woman! Lol!

0
Reply

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