Want to start a conversation? Wear a hat with a logo — preferably ofa sports team.I’ve blogged about the magnetism of hats before.I am walking in Bermuda with my Mets hat on and I expect to meet either a Red Sox fan or a Yankees fan. Met both but the Beantown fan was a little more interesting.One thing led to another and Dave told me the story of h …
Totality.A word that will never have the same meaning for me after last Monday.The mysteries and splendor of the universe witnessed, perhaps comprehended, for a few moments on earth.Totality.
Overheard while waiting for coffee at a local coffee and bake shop:Apparently a customer was calling because she has lost her cellphone and thought she might have left it in the shop’s bathroom.The person at the counter who answered the call had an empty cellphone case in her hand and was explaining that the empty case was all that was found in the …
The tragic accident at the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is sending shock waves through the country and, in addition to the loss of life, will be felt for many years to come.For me, news of the accident has a very personal side. I don’t want to speak badly of a bridge - especially after it has been knocked down and people are lost as a resu …
One of our favorite restaurants is Ada’s on the River in Alexandria, Virginia. It is named and themed after Ada Lovelace, known for her revolutionary impact on mathematics and computing in the early nineteenth century. She is also referred to as the first computer hacker.My favorite cocktail at Ada’s was the Lord Byron, appropriately named after Ad …
Herb always knew when we were away for the weekend or a vacation. If we forgot to tell him in advance, he would call as soon as he realized the car was gone.“Hey kids. You away again? When will you be back? And, do you want me to put in the papers?”“And, I love that bread you brought back last time.”Herb was the perfect neighbor.Living side by side …
Shortly after meeting someone for the first time, the question is asked:“What do you do?”Invariably - at least in my experience- the question evokes a response about what someone does for a living, or, perhaps, did for a living.Is that changing?Do others, a different generation or otherwise, respond differently?How would it feel to answer the quest …
As a young child my family took me to Miami Beach. We stayed at the Neptune Resort Motel, which, I recently learned, was on Collins Avenue at 159th Street in the long-since demolished Motel Row (and has been replaced by high-rise condos). Our trips were an annual family vacation ritual. Until a few weeks ago, when we stayed at a hotel …
Did you continue a tradition for celebrating Valentine’s Day?The other day the New York Times reported on an alternate Valentine’s Day tradition. The San Antonio Zoo runs a fundraiser in which you can symbolically name a roach or rodent that would be fed to one of the zoo’s animals. The opportunity to acknowledge someone on Valentine’s Day to whom …
We were at an upscale Japanese restaurant in South Beach. Very good food. Pricey.The choice of sake started with a sake at $60 for a carafe of about 300 ml. We ordered it.We loved the sake. As we left, I asked the waiter for the name of the sake we had enjoyed. It was “Dassai 45”.Weeks later we were at our local sushi restaurant. We asked our waitr …
