After spending 24 hours in Atlantic City it's incredible how many people are there. I stayed at Harrah's and it was fully booked. Apart from the gambling, there are lines for everything.

Once of the interesting experiences was the first line, waiting to check in. As we were waiting I noticed the line wasn't moving. Couldn't understand it until a supervisor came out told us that the system was ... More >>

As you probably know, we have a house in Key West and frequently vacation there. I love it there for so many reasons and one, no doubt, is the fact that it is so familiar. It is a classic case of "Same old, same old", but in a very positive way. I have my 50s two wheeler to spin around a flat island, plus my lap pool and favorite restaurants and movie theater. I could go on and on........
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The first time I saw Pete Seeger in person was in the late 1950's in Rhinebeck, New York. He was with a folk group called the Weavers. I most-recently saw him last Friday evening at the City Winery in New York City at a benefit for the Gulf Oil Spill. When he sang "If I Had a Hammer", I was a kid right back in Rhinebeck. I found myself singing along when Pete sang the words from the Bible that... More >>

Over the past couple of weeks, a controversy erupted surrounding the White House. A videotape surfaced on the internet of Shirley Sherrod who was the Georgia State Director of Rural Development for the US Dept. of Agriculture . It showed her speaking in front of the NAACP telling a story that appeared to expose her as someone who acknowledged having prejudice tendencies. Please note that I used ... More >>

Five years ago, my daughter went to sleepaway camp for the first time. The first week was traumatic for both of us. On my end, it was difficult just not knowing -- how the bus trip was, what she had for breakfast, whether the girls in her bunk were nice, how her new comforter worked out on the cot. I remember scouring hundreds of pictures every day looking for her on the camp website, hoping fo... More >>

Every so often I am able to negotiate a divorce from start to finish without ever meeting, in person, the other lawyer or the other spouse. As one might expect this is generally done through telephone calls, written correspondence and emails. It also usually requires that the two lawyers involved maintain a respectful, professional relationship.

I was recently able to negotiate and ultimately r... More >>

Summertime means reading. The beach, the train, or just sitting n the yard is a good place. It is usually the time of year I try to detach myself from history and biographies and push myself to read fiction. Sometimes I can, but not this year. I am stuck on non fiction, if only to prove I know more than Fred.

I started with Throes of Democracy by Walter A. McDougall. It is probably the mos... More >>

Exciting weather we had last night. I was so interested in what was happening, weather wise, that I turned on the Weather Channel. Lo and behold there was drama and anxiety all wrapped up in doppler radar and Live TV. If I didn't know any better I should have immediately moved to the basement and hid under a table to protect myself from the impending tornado. Actually there is a table downstairs I... More >>

I recently read an article by Washington lawyer Jacob A. Stein wherein he quoted from a book of essays by the renowned economist John Maynard Keynes. Stein featured a report by Keynes on his first-hand observations at the 1918 post World War I Paris Peace Conference. Woodrow Wilson led the U.S. delegation and British Prime Minister Lloyd George led the British delegation, which included Keynes. ... More >>

We were planning our day trip to Guilford, Connecticut for the annual Guilford Craft Expo last weekend. We meet fellow Gothamite Phyllis Weiss Haserot and her husband Bob for an afternoon at the craft fair and a wonderful dinner overlooking the Long Island Sound. It is becoming a tradition. Depending upon one’s feelings toward “95” (the Connecticut Turnpike), getting to Guilford from Long Is... More >>

When someone passes away, we have a tendency to whitewash the story and focus mainly on the good. Normally it is a decent thing and has very few repercussions. Last week George Steinbrenner passed away and while there were many questionable words like fascinating, conflicted and bombastic thrown around, for the most part, the idea was propagated that he was a great baseball man. There have even... More >>

The flight is booked and I am very satisfied. Timing worked well. I was able to book non-stop flights and the price, very reasonable.

But here is the catch. When you have to pay for each suitcase, the reasonable price quickly becomes very costly. Add size and weight restrictions and now the price is far beyond reasonable. In fact, at some point it becomes more cost effective to buy a seat ... More >>

In a manner that is truly remiscent of the Gotham mantra-its better to give than receive-I opened my email one day to find a gift of a guest blog for me from Vincent Serro. Vincent's words are extremely thoughtful and I am proud to post them.

I happened to be on a long car ride home this past Friday afternoon on the Long Island (not quite) Express-way when I heard a series of news stories on t... More >>

With all the news last week, two stories were of particular interest. The first was about a physicist from Amsterdam who claims that gravity is an illusion. Suddenly I felt very light headed and held on to my desk just to be on the safe side. Reading the article, I realized that I have been thinking the same thing all along. (I think my son Joshua would agree too, he probably thinks gravity is... More >>

The following is the eulogy I gave last Sunday in honor of my Dad. My intention in posting it is for two reasons: 1. A bunch of people wanted to read it and 2. As a final goodbye for me.


Good afternoon. I am humbled by your presence and grateful for your support. Thank you for being here to pay tribute to my Father and to help us through this difficult time.

Like all of us in this room, al... More >>

On July 4th, Times Op Ed star Maureen Dowd wrote:

Sometimes the thing that's weird about you is the thing that's cool about you [WOW!]
When you're young, and even at times when you're older [like me], it's hard to fathom this: what needs to be nurtured is the stuff that's different, that sets you apart from the pack, rather than the stuff that helps you blend in.
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I was listening to the Carole King song "So Far Away" and I began to wonder about staying in one place and being far away. My stream of consciousness may have been a bit more down to earth than the song-writer intended.

When I was young my nuclear family lived within a thirty minute drive of my extended family -- aunts, uncles and cousins. We got together often. One criteria for house ... More >>

Earlier in the week, Mitch related a story about his father that initially appears as a wistful anecdote, then seeping into a subject that most of us deal with, but not always as successfully, forgiveness.

When we are kids, we are instilled with this belief system that our parents are perfect in almost a demi-god like way. We expect them to know everything, to provide for us unfailingly, to sh... More >>

Saturday night was a “blast from the past.” We spent the evening at Jones Beach Theatre. If you have ever been there, you know how beautiful the venue can be. I say “can be” because it is entirely weather dependent.

Although the day was stormy, our actions ensured good weather. [Here is my secret, but SHHHHH, don’t tell anyone. If you spend an entire afternoon running from store ... More >>

Mitch’s and Don’s poignant blogs about their fathers inspired me to delete the blog I had originally posted for today and write a blog about my mother. My Mom died about a year ago and was, appropriately for her, buried on Mother’s Day. My Mom relished her role as a Mom and I cannot remember a single instance when she placed her interests before that of myself or my brother and sister. Thro... More >>

Mitch's father's passing, and his beautiful blog yesterday naturally got me to thinking about my father, and his passing years ago. I also happened to have been sitting at a wedding recently next to a old friend I had not seen in many many years whose wife had taken her own life a few years before. I mentioned to him that my father had also died that way. "Really," he said, his eyes widening an... More >>

My Dad passed away very early yesterday morning. It was strange and surreal. A man I knew my whole life is now gone.

Watching him over the past few weeks has been very difficult. Death is a nasty business. I don't know why we enter this life with such celebration and fanfare yet we leave with such sadness and tragedy. Maybe we need to change the way we look at death.

I watched him as he lay... More >>

Periodically I posit other people's thoughts as Food For Thought and this is my latest (Baker's Dozen) entry:

1. What many of us see as racism is just human cruelty looking for a place to land. (Anita Gates)

2. Many a man's reputation would not know his character if they met on the street. (Elbert Hubbard)

3. Sobriety diminishes, discriminates, and says no; drunkenness expands, un... More >>

The "usual routine" at Haven Cafe and Bakery --- a great place for breakfast or brunch in Lenox, Massachusetts -- is to find a table, wait on line to order at the counter and return to your table with a number that is placed in plain view so they know where you are when your food is ready. We've never seen Haven as crowded as it was this past Monday morning. There were no available tables. Rather ... More >>

Over the past few weeks, we've all been treated to a great American sports experience, the Lebron James free agency tour. In full disclosure, I dislike basketball so perhaps this is not an objective analysis. It isn't simply that I'm just not into basketball. I truly have a distaste for it's selfish, arrogant, gun-toting, player-before-the-team culture. I know, there are plenty of basketball f... More >>

I was struck by an email I received this morning about a local family. Early Sunday morning, this family of five was sleeping, a weekend morning just like any other. The three children (ages 15, 6 and 2) sleeping soundly and safely in their bedrooms. But in a split second, everything changed. The father heard tapping and woke up to find the house engulfed in flames. Luckily, the family was a... More >>

As the Monday blogger, I know there are certain days when my comment level is low, such as President’s Day, Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. I’m going to assume that the day after the Fourth of July, when most businesses are closed, my comments will be at a similar low level. Also, my most reliable commenter, my daughter Sydney, is away for eight weeks at sleep-away camp with no ... More >>

This July 4th weekend we are in Chatham on Cape Cod. Yesterday we went whale watching and saw ten of them. Today we are on our way to Nantucket for the day with our bikes, that elbow of sand, as Melville describes it.

An interesting thing is on the Chatham lighthouse. It says that about 19 miles from that spot the Pilgrims were caught in the Mayflower on the shoals of the Pollack Rip and wer... More >>

Lately I've been trying to play more golf and this weekend I'm going to the Poconos with a couple of friends to play golf till our arms fall off. In preparation, I've hit a bunch of balls at driving ranges to find my "groove."

I enjoy hitting a golf ball. It's relaxing and revealing at the same time. To hit a golf ball "pure" is a feeling I love. The golf club becomes a tuning fork for my soul... More >>

1. When riding a bike, to avoid knee strain and optimize your locomotion, raise your seat so your legs are fully extended straight at the bottom of your pedal arc.

2. When telephoning in the 212 area code you need not dial 1 first.

3. Check for stale eggs by putting them in water, bad eggs float.

4. As a tax benefit, when making a charitable donation, if you have it, donate appreciated s... More >>

Earlier this week I took a look at divorce from a different perspective. Flo and I went to a rendering of "You Better Sit Down: A Conversation". It was a performance by The Civilians Theater Company in conjunction with WNYC (check out Culture at the WNYC website). It is a conversation about divorce. The four actors had one thing in common --- they were all children of divorce. The material is ba... More >>