A few weeks ago, my sister gave me an old little picture viewer - the souvenir photo that you hold to the light (Catskill hotels, vintage a long time ago). It was a picture of me, my brother and father on a pool deck with the ocean behind us. It was in the fifties. I must have been about eight. It was the Neptune Motel in Miami Beach.We were in Mia …
The other morning, I heard a little piece on WNYC about clutter.It reminded me of a friend of my father who we visited in Tel Aviv many, many years ago. He was a local celebrity of some sort.What struck me most was the organized clutter in his apartment. The highlight of which were end tables constructed of piles of books. Despite it all, there was …
This past Tuesday was a “First Day Back.”My five year old granddaughter was having a lot of anxiety on Monday evening about her First Day Back to kindergarten. Her mom suggested that she speak to me. I told her that I also had anxiety about my First Day Back and that I took something new with me on my First Day Back - especially when it was a new y …
We gave two of our grandsons Lego sets as Hanukkah gifts and they quickly found their places to begin assembling the models. The older asked for two paper bowls to sort out and hold the many pieces as he set to work. His younger cousin observed, pondered and concluded that sorting the pieces in bowls was a good idea.He asked whether he could take t …
SOCO is a wonderful ice cream parlor on Railroad Street in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The best ice cream.Last summer, SOCO had a venture with nearby Shakespeare and Company and fashioned some ice cream flavors dedicated to Shakespeare. And, inspired by the great playwright, SOCO offered its customers the opportunity to decorate its walls with …
I think they got it wrong when they decided that “Gaslighting” is the word of the year.I was speaking to Nancy the other day and we both commented on how many plans have been changed, often at the last minute......And how we have had to adjust accordingly.I think the word of the year should have been “Pivot”.
Congratulations to all of the honorees at the Gotham 2022 Holiday Party.I was riveted by Vince Chirico’s words. Vince received the coveted Red Bandanna Award for his efforts through Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow.Vince recounted how he would have been in his office at the World Trade Center on September 11th but for his wife’s insistence that …
Gotham is amazing. Perhaps I had taken Gotham for granted for a while. That was shaken last Monday as I attended Gotham’s Encores meeting and joined in welcoming Ellin Yaskey back to Gotham.Ellin has been inactive since moving from the United States to Israel over ten years ago.Ellin joined our virtual meeting from her apartment in Tel Aviv -- one …
One day , many, years ago, when I first started practicing law, the younger attorneys in the firm met in a conference room to hear words of wisdom from the founder of the firm.He told us that the most important thing to remember in the practice of law was to always respond to a client within one day after a client called.Those were the days — befor …
I don’t consider myself to be superstitious, yet there is one phenomenon that I’ve noticed that gives me pause.The jinx happens when a sports announcer says something speculative - - a comment about the number of innings without a hit against a pitcher or a hitting streak for a batter.Before last Sunday’s Giants-Ravens game, they did a brief segmen …
Every so often I see a message that I feel compelled to share.We were visiting the Hot Shop (a place where glass is blown and otherwise formed) at the Tyler School of Glass at Temple University. Although everyone - students and professors- appears to be having fun, it is a serious place. Working glass, especially hot blown glass, requires well-chor …
I met him only once. We spent about an hour together. We were both in transition in our professional lives. We talked about our respective careers up until that point and where planning or fate might take us.He probably doesn’t remember our meeting. I doubt that I would have either….. had he not been appointed a judge to the United States District …
We always hear about polls. And with Election Day looming, we will be hearing about polls more and more. The polls will warn us, try to motivate us and, ultimately tell us how and why the vote went the way it did.Every day or so I receive an email, text message, or phone call asking me a polling question or to participate in a poll. So far I haven’ …
Based upon a true story.At a doctors appointment, you are escorted in by a rushed medical assistant who is tasked with the preliminaries before you are seen by the doctor. There is a sense of anxiety in the air. You are anxious - after all, you are at a doctor’s office. And the assistant is adding to the anxiety. A sense of pressure. A tone.Just un …
Teams. As I was watching the U.S. Tennis Open, I heard several of the players refer, and thank, their “Team”, as the camera scanned over to a spectator box with several people in it. Perhaps it is the new rule in tennis that allows coaching during a match. I’ve noticed increasing references to “teams” - in the business world and elsewhere. Maybe i …
