Last week Fred blogged about "Menu Management" -- managing the food that his wife Joanne orders. If it turns out that she doesn't like what she ordered, Fred (gladly) switches plates. Flo and I have a similar arrangement at theaters. With few exceptions, Flo usually finds the tallest person in the theater to sit in front of her. And once that pe …
As I write this, I am on vacation; albeit “turning the corner” on this vacation. As much behind as lies ahead. 13.1 miles into the marathon. It occurs to me that there is always a “turning the corner”. In everything we do, there’s a point at which we’re half-way through. Midway. Something behind us and something ahead. Sometimes turning the corn …
It seemed that everyone was doing it, so we gave it a try. Netflix that is. First “Breaking Bad”, then “House of Cards.” As late comers, we're still catching up with the old seasons. I can get as addicted as the next person. I was completely in to “24” and Monday nights were off-base for anything except watching the show. We were in Seattle for …
I was so relieved when Nancy blogged last week about enough snow for this season. I figured that, with the well-respected Power of Gotham, we would be free of the white stuff for the rest of the winter. I won't lose faith in the Power of Gotham. I must accept the fact that there are forces at work with the weather that even Gotham's might can't …
Recently, I've seen an increasing number of articles about minimizing one's life. Just yesterday there was a piece online about a man who, as director of operations for a telecom company in Ohio, was asked to submit a plan to close stores and terminate 41 employees. He submitted the plan, with his name of the top of the list. He left his job and st …
We were in Florida last weekend visiting my Mom in Delray. Every morning we took a walk along the beach and enjoyed the 50 degree temperature difference from home. (I understand how the happiness of New Yorkers in Florida is tied to the difference in the weather.) While walking I couldn't help but think of the dog walking blogs --- Fred's and D …
I often wonder about the "personalities" of machines and other inanimate objects. We have a Keurig coffee maker at home. A few weeks after we bought it, it started acting funny. By "funny" I mean that it never gave you the amount of coffee that you asked for. Regardless of the button you pushed -- for a small, medium, or large cup of coffee, i …
It has become an all-too-frequent scene. I notice across the restaurant a couple enjoying a nice quiet dinner. Then I see the smart phones, either on the table or in the hands of one (or both) of the diners. “What could possibly be so important?” I wonder. And then the lyrics of Stephen Stills flow melodically through my mind. “...and if you ca …
Unless it touches us directly, we are generally immune to crime. It is something that happens "out there" and “to someone else”. From that perspective, we follow the news and accept crime as part of the landscape. But every once in a while, a crime -- even “out there”-- touches us and gives us pause. Such was the recent car-jacking and murder …
With the change of seasons, I am motivated to get into my closets and do a little cleaning. I am truly amazed (perhaps embarrassed would be more accurate) by the number of T shirts that I have. It seems that every event in my life is commemorated by a T shirt that found its way into my closets. As I go through the piles, most of the shi …
I like it when we -- that is Flo, me and all of the children -- are in the same time zone. I can safely write about this because my daughter, Mea, and son-in-law, Charles, who live in Seattle, are in New York for the next few days. Everyone else lives in New York and, until Monday, we'll all be in the same time zone. When Mea and Charl …
Last night at the Cocktail Party, I spent most of my time on the right side --- the Bar Room. It seems that at every event on the second floor of the Friars Club, the crowd prefers one side or the other. Or, maybe it’s just me. Last night seemed to find more people in the Bar Room. One little story captures so much about what Gotham is. Ester Ho …
