With Memorial day weekend upon us, hopefully everyone is outside enjoying much needed fresh air. And, when I think of Memorial Day, I think of bar-b-ques. A thought I do not believe the current situation will change. In fact,  I believe we need our bar-b-ques even more this year. So the natural question is, what is your preference? Are you a hamburger person or hotdog person? Or both?           I am a hot dog person. I am not a fan of hamburgers, at all. Although I like my ...

This time of year, I usually look to gather lists of summer concerts, many free, to recommend. Not this year. Often, the discussions about music involve what great show got canceled, postponed or rescheduled. Not sure how many texts and emails I’ve exchanged with my friend Jason about changes involving shows planned at Jones Beach this year. We’ve talked about things such as drive-in concerts – not something either one of us consider an acceptable option; a drive-in movie inv...

Boy are we angry...having been out and about (don't worry, mask and gloves are on) I can tell you that people are angry. Apparently a lot of pent-up tension.   The drivers on the road are excessively agressive which is saying a lot around here. Retailers are getting screamed at in a plant store ?!? They are in a store which has beautiful flora and fauna and they are angry about the establishment running out of basil...   Doctors call these rage attacks; sudden, out-of-control...

Her name was Mary Mallon and she was a rich man’s cook in the early 20th century.   Trouble was that she was an asymptomatic carrier of Typhoid Fever. She denied being “sick” all her life, but she was caught up in the conflict between public health and individual rights. She ended up living out her life in isolation.   Some of us may be asymptomatic carriers of Covid19 who refuse to wear a mask and take other precautions in public.   Don’t be a Typhoid Mary, sublimate your in...

The little notification beep on my phone tells me that there’s motion in my backyard. Sometimes it’s the Cardinal enjoying a snack. Weeks ago, when this was just beginning, we put a little birdseed on the deck to see what would happen. After a few days the cardinals appeared. A sweet couple - bright red with a black face and soft brownish-red. They seem unaware of what’s going on — except I’ve heard that the birds have reduced the volume of their chirping because they’re not ...

“Take the trip, buy the shoes, eat the cake” We’ve all heard that line before and felt its familiar tug, reminding us that life is better when it’s lived, fully. Trading coffee with your family, for on-time arrival to the office, or skipping the walk after lunch, to meet a deadline are familiar, as well. Choices are made many times in a day, probably a hundred times or more. In hindsight, COVID-19 will forever remind me to “take the trip, buy the shoes, and eat the cake”. ...

  As the spring semester of my son’s sophomore year in college comes to a close, I'm not going to lie -- he does miss being on campus.  But an interesting phenomenon has unfolded in my house. Eric is a chemical engineering major. He has a pretty rigorous course load and there is little room for courses outside of a science and math curriculum. But, to fulfill a requirement, he took an American history course this semester covering post-Civil war period through the present. ...

Last week I sat in my new home office--otherwise known as my daughter’s old bedroom--looking at an 800 page deposition transcript that I had to read. Rather than sit in the office and read, I moved to my living room. I made myself a cup of coffee, put my feet up and began reading.   About an hour and a half in, I realized that even though I was sitting on a couch with my feet up drinking coffee, I was very focused on my task. I had taken excellent notes on what I was read an...

Friday, I was finally able to set up outside. I even tweeted about it (See pic above left.). This morning I expect to get some final pieces in place for the deck. It requires a curbside pickup but I prefer not endure a weekday delivery and interference with my workdays/week upcoming It was great to take breakfast yesterday morning and actually read my papers on my reclining chaise lounge; even broke out my outside coffee maker! We got out that afternoon and participated in...

After wiping off all my groceries, I'm not sure I like grapes that smell like baby wipes   Without looking online, I try to guess what's in the Amazon box that's delivered to my front porch seemingly every day   I wonder why I still have a land line. The only people that call want to sell me something.   I'm hoping landscapers learn there are electric mowers and blowers that don't require ear plugs   Didn't realize how much time I spent traveling for work, not sure where that...

While walking Charcoal the other day I came upon the pictured sign. As soon as I spied it my blogger juices began to flow and I quickly captured the pictured image. What a stark, yet elegant statement! Kindness is defined as follows: In these unprecedented difficult days we should all aspire to be kind or more kind as the case may be.  As we can see, it is a shared strength.   I think it meshes well with our “It’s better to give than receive...” mantra! Please join me!...

This blog is for both grandparents and their children. Being a Grandparent in this time of pandemic- with physical isolation and social distancing--is difficult. We also recognize that parenting young children in these times was tough on our children.A response has evolved.A while ago, I offered to “virtually babysit” my 3 year old grandson. Not that he was left alone, but I was able to FaceTime and engage him for about a half hour whil his parents were in the next room havin...

This week, I have needed the medicine that cures all. LAUGHTER! Anyone watch the new Jerry Seinfeld gig? 23 Hours to Kill. I highly recommend watching. Jerry made me laugh out loud. Anyone have a fear of Port-O-Potty’s? I do. So does Jerry. He explains why. Anyone prefer texting to talking? He’s polished and the delivery, exceptional. If you need some laughs, he will deliver. I’m looking for inspirational ideas this week. Someone suggested watching the video of a LIVE...

One morning a few weeks ago, I woke up to a series of curious emails in my inbox. One after the other – Amazon, Venmo, Paypal, Netflix, . . . No, I had not authorized a change in my password on any of these accounts in my sleep. But somehow, each had been changed. I suddenly had strange email addresses attached to all of my accounts – and I was locked out of all of them. For the next day or so, it kept happening. Less important platforms – Spotify access does not really ch...

I remember when the thought came to me. It was mid-April and I was feeling sad. I was sad for the people we lost and who were sick. I was sad for the tremendous financial loss so many people were feeling. There were a lot of reasons to be sad.   I needed to turn myself around. I needed to think about what I had to be grateful for. I was grateful for mine and my family’s health. I was thankful that we have food on the table and a roof over our heads. But on that day, I jus...