We have always chuckled at my husband’s special talent. Seriously, he can – and usually does – talk to anyone. It doesn’t matter where he is, what line he is standing in, where he might be going. If he stands next to someone long enough, there is a conversation to get started. A few weeks ago we were in Costco. He commented on this guy’s tee shirt. Next thing you know, he was deep in conversation and figuring out that they knew each other from years back. For the longest...

Are you a car person? Admittedly, I am not. To me, my car’s function is to get me to and from where I need to be. Since that sometime means driving through inclement weather, I generally drive a SUV or cross-over.   For the past six years I have leased a GMC Terrain. I loved my Terrain but, for some reason, when the second lease recently ran out I wanted to shake things up. So I walked into an Audi dealer and looked at their SUVs. The cars seemed fine but the salesperson’s a...

Motivated in part by a campaign I enjoy (don’t tell the client) advising in New York City’s Municipal Primary elections, I posted a Gotham promo Friday that opened with the same musical Happy Father’s Day message, I enjoy make a tradition posting when I open my commentary every Father’s Day: a video of current Poco bassist and vocalist Jack Sundrud performing Father’s Day with his Idlewheel partner Craig Bickhardt. In part because of the aforementioned campaign this Father’s ...

Traffic is increasing and we as drivers as well as the roads are struggling to cope. Some say it's because people do not want to take public transportation while a recent report stated that the influx of traffic is directly related to our increase in buying online. Yes. Take a look around (safely) while your driving and you'll notice a tremendous amount more trucks and vans. We are all clicking the Buy Now button on Amazon and most people I talk too won't go back into a gro...

Last night Gotham held its first Virtual Gotham Battle of the Bands (BOTB) competition sponsored by Jason Greenberg and The Phoenix Adjusters Group, Inc. and the Winners were: Tara O’Grady-First Prize($2000 and Show Case at Cafe Wha?), Parkway South-Second Prize ($1000) and Sound Judgment-Third Prize ($500).   It was the first Virtual BOTB and hopefully the last, as we look forward to holding it next year, as in the past-all together, in William Skody’s iconic Cafe Wha? We...

For many, many years I had a black Fischer space pen. The black matt was chipped - a respectable sign of its being well utilized over so many years.Last February, I lost it.I replaced it a few weeks later. New black matt finish.Last weekend, we were sitting outside in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts having an iced coffee. I heard the clink of the pen hitting beneath - having escaped from my pocket. I looked down and saw the spaces between the planks of the wooden deck. No pen...

Yet another shift in our evolving society with the sunsetting pandemic. Recently, I've had numerous conversations with professional colleagues about business and the state of affairs. Consistantly reported, is this zeal for face to face encounters. With the resurgence of in-person meetings, most are redefining productivity. The 'new normal" is in direct opposition with our "natural normal". What has surfaced and what is now trending, is the search for appropriate balance betw...

  I’m afraid I might be single handedly supporting the rejuvenation of the New York economy. It occurred to me recently that I have been out shopping more over the last three weeks than in the last 15 months combined. Restaurants, clothing, gifts, you name it. Although I’m still not comfortable in a mall, I have been able to get comfortable in and out of stores wearing my mask. The past 15 months I have been in and out of supermarkets and the local CVS. Pretty much, ...

I am turning 60 this summer, as are many of my longtime friends. Given that we are still in a pandemic, we are all finding creative ways to celebrate.   For my husband’s 60th birthday, this past October, I had friends and family from near and far submit a short video, and pictures if they had, to wish him a happy birthday. My daughter put it all together into one video. He absolutely loved his video and looks at it often. For a small outdoor family celebration I had a chef...

Some people tell this commentator that I Live for the Music. I concede I missed live music. Last night with our friends Eric and Jar we checked out a band called Rock Steady outdoors at Lamotta’s in Port Washington. It’s drummer, Andy Lavin, is a member of this tribe that hosts this commentary. And this coming Thursday, at 6:00 p.m., everyone can experience the return of Gotham’s Battle of the Bands®, this year a virtual extravaganza executive produced by our entertainment ch...

I know there's an election when I start seeing ads trying to get you to vote for a specific candidate. Right now, they are at a fever pitch because we have one starting today. (The primary Election day is Tuesday, June 22, 2021 but there's an early voting period which is June 12, 2021 — June 20, 2021.) No surprise I'm fascintated by the strategies behind the marketing of this new crop of candidates. It's quite funny sometimes. The best/worst are the ads for Mayor of NYC. He...

Last night the North of 25A Book Group hosted a Zoom discussion with Pulitzer Prize winning author Dave Barry.   Our group had read his wonderful, humorous and poignant  2019 book, Lessons From Lucy.  Lucy is his dog :)   Having been turned around/converted about dogs 8 years ago by the advent of my beloved Charcoal, the book resonated especially for me, eg, when she knows we’re about to go for a walk she first wants to play “keep away”.   Dave (after re...

We were on Zoom waiting for the other members of New York Health and Longevity to join the meeting. I asked fellow Gothamite Janet Sullivan how she was doing.She answered that she was okay but with the reservation that she was doing as well as could be expected given the stress that we have all been under for over a year. (My apologies to Janet for not giving a verbatim report of her response.)Janet, a psychotherapist, continued and explained that she preferred to give an hon...

Every year, the lady crew heads out for a golf trip down the shore. We select a few courses we don’t play often and set up a scramble, or a shamble. Usually teams with the highest index and the lowest are mixed together, along with the oldest and the youngest. It makes for a great time, good conversation, and learning new approach shots. With COVID sunsetting (hopefully) we chose to stay together at a friends in Ocean City, NJ. 17 women in 1 house. Can you imagine the laught...

  We are beach people. Just getting to the beach and spending a few hours listening to the soft sounds of the water makes a world of difference. A few years ago, we found a quiet beach just north of where we live. Until then we had been driving to the south shore of Long Island which we quickly learned was an investment of an entire day. Don’t get me wrong, the south shore beaches are glorious but we learned, inconvenient. When we found this small beach, we knew we had ...