Thursday, July 3rd … and we’re in Great Barrington (Massachusetts) awaiting the arrival of our children and grandchildren for our third annual July Fourth family reunion.From Washington D.C., Alexandria, Virginia, Brooklyn and Manhattan, they will journey to the Berkshires for a weekend of fun, sushi at Bizen (our cousin’s famous restaurant), and, …
For months now, I’ve been getting a lot of phone calls from numbers I don’t recognize. I don’t answer and they always leave a voicemail about a personal loan that I never applied for. The voicemail indicates that if I don’t respond and complete my application, this loan opportunity that I never asked for will go away. Of course, I’m on the “do n …
No, not that one. Baby birds happily floating from the antennae on top of my roof to the long branch of a well rooted tree. Mama bird showing her babies how to take advantage of the musical bird feeder next door. The warmth of the sun dancing through the leaves while watching this season’s nests build way up high in the tree. Dinner on the …
I decided to do some spring (maybe now summer?) cleaning in my closet this week. Cleaning out my closets was long overdue, and I finally tackled the chaos head-on. I found clothes I hadn’t worn in years, mystery cords, and more than a few forgotten memories. Letting go of clutter felt surprisingly liberating—like making space for a lighter, clear …
Gotham allows its members to post promotional messages to its Promo@GothamNetworking.com listserve on Tuesdays and Fridays. I moderate that and the weekday more general Fredslist Gotham listserve and encourage members to use the "Promos" opportunity -- many more should -- as I did last Tuesday: I shared about an interview I did the two weeks befo …
Last Saturday, I asked my 94-year-old mother what she had for breakfast. She paused and said with complete sincerity,"I forgot to remember." And honestly… I didn’t know whether to laugh, put it on a T-shirt, or adopt it as my personal life motto. At 94, she’s earned the right to forget a few things. Breakfast, lunch, or even a thought. …
When I was young I did not drink coffee. As the years passed, I slowly developed an affinity for a cup of black coffee, which I nursed through the day at my desk .What's more, I loaded up on cups of black coffee (containing caffeine, a legal performance enhancing drug) before my marathons for an extra beneficial boost. Then there's espresso, usua …
We were just seated in a restaurant at 20th Street and Tenth Avenue.“Hi Flo, hi Ben …. Steve, what are you doing in my neighborhood?” as he moved on to a nearby table.A familiar face but no quick recognition. After a while, we figured it out.Later, as he was leaving, he said, “Let Fred know that there was another “Gotham Sighting”.I hadn’t heard th …
You set a password every 60 to 90 days. Then you have to re-set it. For security reasons of course. Its not easy to think of a good password, something you like, something you can remember. Then you think of one you really like, then you have to change it. And you cant re-use the password again, its basically gone from your rotation. This is the be …
Do you give it? And if so, how? Constructive criticism is not always easy to give. Both of my kids (now very grown) will tell you that when they were young, if I started a sentence with “Can I make an observation . . . “, they knew what was coming. I suppose for better or worse, but I always thought better. They may not have agreed. In th …
I quite unexpectedly missed an event last week due to an unforeseen circumstance. I called the host the next day to more fully explain my absence and apologize. While on the phone we chatted about the event. In discussing the event he mentioned an off-color comment one of the guests made. I quickly responded, “That’s offensive.” His response was …
In the last two weeks, my daughter made us proud again. A few months back, I shared how Marisa placed an op-ed and State Senator Toby Stavisky called me to advise she is sharing that commentary with her colleagues. Earlier this month, the legislation Marisa wrote in support of passed the State Legislature. I posted to X congrats to my daughter …
It's true, elephants know where to shop. In Thailand this week, one named Plai Biang Lek casually wandered into a grocery store. Surveillance and social media videos show the elephant strolling in, as if he had a shopping list, calmly stopping at the counter, and helping himself to nine bags of sweet rice crackers, a sandwich, and some dried banana …
