I recently opened an occasionally-used news app on my smartphone. A notice appeared about the use of cookies by the app. Long legal explanations and disclaimers. A request to accept before going on. However, there was no ability to decline permission. I tried to get around the notice without consenting, but could not. I thought about all of the …
We live in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County. We have been avid recyclers. Things are changing. A few weeks ago, we received a notice of new recycling guidelines. The notice announced that “The International Recycling Market Changed...Here’s how it impacts you!” It was reported some time ago that China, which historically purchased muc …
We were at the airport and I was waiting for Flo. Nearby on both sides of me were two couples —clearly each a husband and wife. And both were caught up in an argument. I moved away from one only to find the other engaged in almost identical banter. The toxicity was painful – beyond uncomfortable. I could feel it permeating my skin and had to get …
Have you ever noticed that people tend to sit at the same seat? This phenomenon was mentioned at a recent Gotham meeting. Members just sat at their “regular” seats. Same perspective of the room and others. No judgment. Simple observation. I thought about this phenomenon for a while and, a few days later, was confronted by it and the discomfort ca …
At first, I thought it was a weird request. We were at an art show and a gallery owner we know, apologized and asked me to retrieve his phone that was charging in his booth which was about fifty feet away. He was pushing a stroller with the young child of his assistant who was attending the booth and explained that if he went back to the booth, th …
I had to do something. The pain of the massacre lingered. I couldn’t get my head around it. On Tuesday evening, Flo and I attended the memorial vigil at the JCC in Plainview. Among so many people struggling, as I was, to find meaning. Walking away I was struck by certain powers — The Power of Community, the Power of Music, the Power of Word …
I was recently reminded of a danger that hasn’t crossed my mind in a long time. Remember when we were warned not to use cellphones when we pumped gasoline? The danger that the fumes might ignite. And the other day, I pulled up for gasoline, got out of the car, pulled out my iPhone and opened the app from Exxon/Mobil to activate the pump. (T …
In the whirlwind of the confirmation, the subject of nicknames appears in the periphery. Specifically, the memory of nicknames from our youth. So, I’ll share my story. An attempt to obliterate my nickname of long ago. They called me Benjie. When I went off to college, I was determined to leave my nickname behind forever. I would answer to Ben an …
We love to play Connect 4 and have several versions (including a “Captain’s Game” that replicates the old game played at sea). We’ve had our travel version the longest. It is small, very portable and travels with us everywhere. Over the years, pieces have been lost and we are getting precariously close to not having enough markers to play to the …
Flo often admonishes me to “Stop and smell the roses.” There’s a Chasidic saying, attributed to the 18th century, “Just as the hand, held before the eye, can hide the tallest mountain, so the routine of everyday life can keep us from seeing the vast radiance and the secret wonders that fill the world.” As Flo says “Stop and smell the roses.”
