I have been privileged to have been to the Western Wall in Jerusalem several times. There is an awesome and unavoidable sense of history and, for me, a holiness that encompasses the historical and more. There is a custom of inserting little slips of paper inscribed with personal notes, perhaps prayers, in the crevices of the Wall. It was reported that when Donald Trump visited the Wall earlier this week, he followed the custom of leaving a little piece of paper in a crack in...

"Please silence your cellphones." An often-repeated admonition that has become part of our everyday lives. Sometimes heeded, sometimes not. So, heeding the advice, and, more significantly, wanting to enjoy a romantic anniversary dinner, Flo and I silenced our phones and tucked them out of sight. About an hour later, when we were brought dessert with a candle -- the restaurant knew it was our anniversary-- I took out my phone to take a picture. I noticed over a dozen un...

Last weekend, we went to Washington to visit our children, Jeremy (and Stephanie) and Mea (and Charles), who live in the nation's capital. We like Washington and having family to visit makes the trips their even more special. But this trip was very special. We drove down to D.C. with a very special passenger. When she heard that we were driving to Washington, my Mom asked for a ride. Grandma was going to spend the weekend with her granddaughter, Mea. "I just need a ...

At Tuesday's meeting of the Long Island Women's Group, the guest speaker, Joshua Lafazan, told us how, as a high school student, he started an anti drunk driving program that provided safe and free rides to students to avoid driving while intoxicated or being a passenger. Three hundred and fifty rides were provided in 2016. This relatively small community-based campaign got me thinking about several small endeavors that could or would make a difference. Earli...

I wasn't sure what to expect as we entered the restaurant last Saturday for the 50th anniversary dinner reunion of my high school class. Brooklyn Tech was a ‘commuter’ school with students coming from all over the City. So, interaction was limited to school and after-school activities. You didn't have a lot of friends among your classmates. But there were four of us - Queens boys - who hung out together -- Mark, Frank, Bill and me. I knew that we'd all be at ...

We had been to the glass artist's studio and Gallery before, but I didn't remember the big neon sign that went through its computer-generated silence, sequenced blinking to full message and back to silence. "LOOK! SEE?" At first glance, a very simple message. Look at the art but are you seeing it? Really seeing? Allow the art have its effect on you. Let it in. Its akin to hearing and listening. Pause, focus, STOP and sme...

It was an uncomfortable feeling of something missing as I realized that the cold on my head was the result of the absence of my favorite winter hat. Baseball style, cashmere, waterproof, with ear flaps - available if needed yet neatly folded out of sight most of the time. A perfect hat. On Monday, with the blizzard on its way, I was meeting an attorney from out-of-town and a client in the lounge of a mid-town hotel. In a rush, I folded my coat and hat on the sofa next...

I'm looking for a word - perhaps not yet invented or evolved - or perhaps the extension of the meaning or import of an existing word. Here's the background to my search. A friend has an appointment on a certain day and, having been advised of this important event, I ask to be informed of the outcome as expeditiously as possible. "Let me know. I'd like to hear from you." As soon as the words pass my lips, I realize the dilemma. I communicate with this person by talking or by ...

At first, I thought that the photograph on the front page of yesterday's Wall Street Journal was historical. As a child of Holocaust survivors, I have seen many pictures of gravestones toppled at Jewish cemeteries in Europe during the 1930's. I then realized that the photograph is not historical. It is current. It is today's news. A cemetery near St. Louis desecrated  over the weekend. Many troubling thoughts run through my head. Not an isolated incident. Empowered? Encour...

Pitchers and catchers reporting early. Spring training. My nephew, Jared - who covers baseball for the Wall Street Journal - on his way to warmer climates. This is a good time of year for optimists. How are the teams shaping up? Who is healthy? Who's reporting in good shape? Can we finish better than last season? We need an outlet. We need hope. We need our national pastime. ...