Walking through offices, I've noticed them more and more. Two computer screens, where only one once stood, are adorning desks. I am told that it is easier and more-efficient with two screens. One can check emails while still working on documents, spreadsheets, and other projects. Eliminate the annoying reminders and pop-ups on a single screen. Al …
They tracked me down. It was an email from an old high school friend forwarding information about the upcoming fiftieth reunion of my class at Brooklyn Technical High School. Frankly, I am not one for reunions and have not attended either a high school or college reunion. But there was something about the email that caused me to save it. Perhaps i …
Yesterday, I was at the Annual Meeting of the Health Law Section of the State Bar Association. I've attended the meeting yearly for many, many years. Although I get continuing legal education credit for attending, I find the meeting a great way to keep current on developments in health care law. It's also a nice way to network with my colleagues an …
Last weekend was Uncle Joe's 92nd birthday. As we have for the past few years, Flo and I went down to Florida for a long weekend to see Uncle Joe and other relatives who no longer travel north. Joe is a survivor, both literally and figuratively. He survived the Warsaw Ghetto. He has had his share of loss and illness. But Joe was always a v …
Every week, on Friday afternoon, towards the end of the workweek, I get a subliminal message reminding me to wish a good friend a "Good Sabbath" - a "Shabbat Shalom" - in anticipation of the imminent arrival of sundown. We exchange the greeting, whether in a text message, voice call or, on rare occasion, in a face-to-face exchange, and whether init …
We recently visited the Mitzi Newhouse theater at Lincoln Center. As I walked down the stairs to the theater, I thought of the lockers that were available in the lobbies of the theaters at Lincoln Center. Convenient, especially in the winter, for coats. However, the lockers are gone -- removed many years ago for security reasons. In the lobby o …
So it's time to look back at the past year and, as I think about Gotham and 2016, my thoughts take me to one of the hidden secrets in our Gotham family. It's a small group of Gothamites -- we call them the Advocates-- who quietly help others navigate the complex world of healthcare. Whether it's finding a doctor in some far-away country, getting a …
Last Sunday, I gave a half-full/half-empty canister of cat treats to my longtime neighbor. We kept the treats for the neighbor's cats -- Oreo and Hoppy -- who were frequent visitors to our front porch. Oreo is the friendlier of the two. Hoppy, more guarded. Oreo would wait to see any activity by our front door, or wait for our car to pull up and …
Except, perhaps, for walking and chewing, you really can't do two things at the same time. I was at a conference on health care. Two days of presentations. Lawyers sitting behind long rows of narrow tables. Several laptops and many, many smartphones resting on the tablecloths that covered the tables. My phone found its way to the space in front of …
We live in a condo development. PSE&G just completed a several-week project - replacing power lines. There was lots of equipment around - trucks, cranes,front loaders and a "CallAHead" for the convenience of the crew. The condo is also doing a renovation of our clubhouse. One day, I noticed a second "CallAHead" sitting next to the first. It tu …
The sage advice "Don't believe everything you hear" and "Don't believe everything you read" have taken on ever-increasing meaning. Websites simply make things up and are then quoted, referenced and relied upon. A modern-day version of the parlor game of "telephone" in which the falsehoods are repeated and laundered to become "truth". And the human …
After what has been a most unusual year leading up to the election, we sit down with family and friends to enjoy the ultimate American tradition. In sharing the day with others, enjoy the food, be thankful, be optimistic, watch football (instead of CNN), and don't talk politics. Happy Thanksgiving.
Here's how it was related to me: Flo was having a manicure a few days after the election. Her conversation with Maggie, her manicurist, was disrupted by the loud one-sided cell phone conversation of another patron. (Yes, the salon requests that cellphones not be used.) Flo and Maggie were discussing the results of the election. Since Maggie lives …
Heal first. Analyze later. More next week.
There's an old Yiddish adage - "Man plans and God laughs" (it sounds better in Yiddish). How often we are reminded of it. So it was last weekend. We were all set for a long-planned trip to Boston to visit family and attend a charity event. The phone rang on Sunday morning at 4. "Want to come to Brooklyn to babysit for your grandson?""We're going to …
