Are you Wacky?First of all, is being Wacky a bad or good condition?  To me, if you are wacky it is a distinguishing positive attribute!My definition of Wacky is someone who is amusingly eccentric, quirky or strikingly odd.  I know, that could be me, but no harm no foul.  Truth be told, in my younger highly competitive years I earned the nickname "Mad Dog"...I know that I gravitate to such fellow travelers and some of my favorite people fit the profile.  What's wrong with being eccentric rather than vanilla?

For me, writing is therapeutic; hence, even if nobody reads this, I’m feeling better already!!!I have been fortunate to have numerous mentors in my life, which has taken me further than I could have possibly taken myself! Starting with my parents, then my first sales manager in the insurance business, Charles Sperrazza Jr., when I was fresh out of Lehigh University.  This led me to Buffalo as a manager for Prudential, then to Manhattan for years, where a great man named Irwin Smiley took me under his wing and taught me about estate planning! 

I’m part of a small business mastermind group and we decided to read “Think and Grow Rich” as a catalyst for conversation, introspection and brain sparks that only happen in group think. We read one chapter a week and meet on zoom for discussion.This book was written in 1937, and I have read it several times over the years, always as an assignment and never in a mastermind setting. 

Twenty years. A thousand-plus Monday nights.  Yes, we started this blog thing in August 2006 and we have reached a milestone anniversary.At some point even in the early years, Monday nights brought that same flicker of panic – what am I going to write about this week?? You may assume it gets easier with experience. Sometimes that is true but honestly, some weeks it just doesn't. The blank page doesn't care how long you've been doing this — it just sits there, waiting for you to fill it up.

When everyone was at the golf outing, I was in court on a continuing trial. In my opening statement I asked the judge a seemingly rhetorical question, “Why are we here?” While not said out loud, but implied in that question, was that this should have been an easy case to settle. There were no minor children involved, the income earner spouse was a W-2 wage earner and all the parties’ assets been identified and quantified. 

As many in Gotham know including from a blog posted midweek, Gotham’s 2026 Bob Formica Golfing Outing sponsored by Brainlink International took place last Monday (August 10) at Cold Spring Country Club in Huntington.  Festivities started with a 9:30 a.m. Breakfast/Bunch buffet and after golf concluded with  4:30 p.m. cocktail party and 6:00 p.m. dinner which included an auction of a table at Rao’s support The Gotham Foundation. 

It feels like almost everything today makes people choose a side.A news story. A company. A famous person. A political point of view. Even a simple talk with friends can turn into an argument about who is right.People are often rewarded for being loud and confident. Anger spreads quickly, especially on social media. Listening to someone with a different opinion can seem weak, and changing your mind can feel like losing.Because of this, people talk more but understand each other less.

I admit it, I am addicted to and inextricably connected to my iPhone. It is evidenced by it regularly reporting my over 12 hours of screen time.  I consider my phone a "Window into the World" and the main source of current events (and conspiracy theories).Yes, I frequent X and question the source. Yes, I post on Facebook and receive "Awards" for my content, eg, I post obscure photos of celebrities and award pictures of "Bingos" for correct answers.  Truth be told, I'm still amazed by the frantic competition for the "Bingo" picture.