Never had I thought that it woud have come to this. The aftertaste of my afternoon coffee was still in my mouth. Bitter, a sprig of lemon peel seemed to have made it onto my palatte while I was drinking. Suddently, the average day became more beautiful than all the rest of my life. This sunlight today was more beautiful to me than the the light that hit me the day I was brought out from my mothers womb. Death is the greater cause of appreciation for life than birth.  The orna...

That time of year is upon us when there are new phones in the air. September is always the month that iPhones are born. I suppose there is no real surprise. It seems like there is a full year gestational period for the next iteration each year.   I have been in need of a new phone for a little while but I’ve been limping along to just try to make it to the day of ordering. But now I have to make up my mind.   Anyone out there have any advice for me in choosing my next iPh...

Most of you are my friends on Facebook. If you’re not, I invite you to friend me. Facebook is my social media of choice. I feel comfortable using it. I check it a few times a day and post often.   I have accounts on Instagram and Snap Chat. I generally use those accounts to monitor my kids, follow certain lifestyle or cooking accounts, or some celebrity accounts. But I rarely, if ever, post on Instagram or Snap Chat. My kids tell me that people "my age" do not use Inst...

With my daughter back in town, she took up offers to join me at Citifield and Madison Square Garden on successive days. The Mets, in an afternoon game without any input from their “Polar Bear” parked a record six shots over the fence; not bad to attend a record breaking game and of course a victory, 11-1 over the D-Backs. The next eve we took in a concert billed as “Peter Frampton Finale - The Farewell Tour” at the Garden. Marisa told me it was the best ever concert. It pleas...

There isn't a day goes by now that I don't get spam calls on my cell phone.    I must receive about 5-10 calls a day. And they are very smart because the calls look like they come from local towns around me. It's gotten to the point where I don't answer calls if the phone number is not in my contact list.   I even have my number on the Do Not Call list with the government. I'm beginning to think it's the DO Call list....

I usually wake up (without an alarm) before 5:30 and loll a while in bed. However, at this time of year it is far tougher to get out of bed as it is dark.  Pitch black. Hello darkness, you’re no friend.  No disrespect to the classic Simon and Garfunkel song. At least there is November 3rd Daylight Savings time to look forward to... ...

It’s that awkward moment. “Hello Ben” she says as she smiles and extends her hand. I have no idea who she is. Several ideas quickly go through my head as I smile and extend my hand to hers. Do I pretend to know her without mentioning a name? Do I apologize and ask her who she is and how she knows me? All the while, I wonder when my puzzled look will become apparent. My natural reaction is to smile and try to get through without the potentially embarrassing admissi...

Recently, I met a group of people that adopted the Go-Giver attitude toward business and personal relationships. Much like the Gotham mantra, this group shares our philosophy. It always amazes me that when we give, gifts come back With fall in full force, busy schedules prevail. My Go-Giver colleague invited me on an interview to chat about my passion. I hesitated for 1 full year. I finally gave in and I film tomorrow morning, to go live next week. Without hesitation the to...

  September always lights up with the excitement of going back to school. Although I haven’t actually gone back to school in many (many) years, that feeling is reminiscent of such good things. Now this time of year makes me feel like everyone is ready to get back to good networking. Summertime is fun but slower than the rest of the year. I say that in a good way – down time is important. But now that the fall is here, it’s time to get our connecting re-energized but thi...

  As I am writing this blog, I am sitting at my desk eating an apple. I’m not usually one for midafternoon snacks. I was at the Farmer’s Market,  at the courthouse on Tuesday and the apples looked so good. So I bought a few for home and left a few in the office refrigerator.     It's very surprising to me, how much I am enjoying these few moments, taking a short break, and eating my apple. So much so, that I felt compelled to write a blog about it.  This afternoon pick me ...

It’s a new beginning today.   Yes my Jets start their season this afternoon with many of us holding rather high expectations, especially for the offense. I certainly plan to tune in this afternoon. But today’s blog covers another re-boot of sorts.   This beginning involves a homecoming of sorts.  A return to New York. Several years ago our daughter, Marisa, and friend Nicole took off for L.A.  It was a nice road trip and pictures, emails and texts were shared throughout.  The...

A new coffee shop opened in my town around the corner from my house. Frankly it surprised me given that Starbucks is right down the road.   The store sells specialty coffee from around the word as well as artisan chocolate. The owner, Terry, is really into it. When asked, he'll explain where the different coffee comes from and what it will taste like. I enjoy the coffee and especially the friendly repertoire.   For reasons I can't explain, I decided to help him by providing s...

The words Labor Day conjure up images of end of Summer enjoyment on a sandy beach.  However, on this Labor Day, as is our contrarian wont (see previous blog re our recent visit to the Guggenheim) we went away from the beach and into the city for a day in lower Manhattan at the Whitney Museum of American Art. We zoomed into the city in record time (the sign on the Expressway said 17 minutes to the QMT as we passed under it in Nassau) and easily found a street parking spot. We...

This weekend we will be celebrating my mother’s ninetieth birthday at a small gathering of family and her friends. As the day approaches, I contemplate what few words I might say in her honor and I realize that the words of others would add immeasurably to the predictable words of a biased son. Many of you in the Gotham family have met Esther. She has spoken to Gotham several times and joined us at our holiday party on at least one occasion. From your feedback, it is ...

  Up and down the east coast and could go on for days. Having lived through Sandy in 2012, warnings and watches get my attention in a way they didn’t before. It’s not that I was ever cavalier about being in the path of bad weather, but it’s different now. And frankly, compared to so many others, I was one of the lucky ones in 2012. We have family and friends up and down the east coast. I’m sure you do too. I have already reached out to everyone I know to offer them a s...