"Be prepared!" Wasn't that one of the basic tenets of the Boy Scouts? What surprised me most about Monday night's debate was the lack of preparation by one candidates. As I was watching, I wondered whether the debate would be used as an example of the importance of preparation.
Between now and November 8th, I am going to learn more about polls than I may ever want to know. Every day there's a new poll and every new poll is accompanied by an analysis of the techniques utilized by the poll. Then some commentator will delve into the bias of the poll. Gone are the simple days of "here are the results and there's a error facto …
Recently, I was again reminded of the vagaries of life. Those chance occurrences that could make all the difference.We were driving to Washington, D.C. and were about 30 minutes away on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway when traffic suddenly came to a complete stop. Within minutes, at least 10 emergency vehicles passed us. The traffic app told us th …
Every four years, Labor Day marks the 'beginning' of the presidential election campaign. And every four years, two types of people emerge -- those addicted to the election news and those who purposely avoid the election news. Okay, I admit it. I'm addicted. I have become an election news junkie. I not only watch CNN whenever I can, I listen to CNN …
We were on the ferry from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island, Washington, and Flo struck up a conversation with the man on the motorcycle next to our car. "Do you know that you're going to the longest island in the United States?" Considering that I come from Long Island, that Long Island is about 110 miles long and that Whidbey Island is about 58 miles lo …
Summertime is a time for travel. Traveling involves packing. Some thoughts on packing: Accept and embrace the fact that packing is a necessary part of traveling. Accept that some ‘packs’ are easier than others. Packing doesn't mean you have to re-assess your entire wardrobe. Yes, weather is oftentimes a consideration but being unprepared for unexpe …
The games of summer. "Connect Four", "Air Hockey" and "Skee Ball". Remember them? Recently, "Connect Four" re-entered our lives. We have the travel-size and it's perfect on our trips. Flo likes to pack it when we travel and challenges me to a game or two, which becomes the "best of five" or "best of seven". There's a game room in the Marriott in G …
Anyone who vacations on Martha's Vineyard when the President is there has a story to tell. Here's mine. Last Sunday, we were walking down Main Street in Edgartown and I saw a black shoulder bag on a bench in front of the liquor store. I poked my head inside the store to let the clerk know about the bag. He told me that he knew about it, but didn't …
As a kid, I grew up believing that, if you were a Mets fan, you really couldn't like (let alone be friends with) a Yankees fan. It was wonderful being with many, many fellow Gothamites at Citifield the other evening watching the Mets and the Yankees play. I put aside that I was sitting among Yankee fans -- arch enemies of a different era. I don't …
Last Sunday afternoon, we were sitting in the shed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts listening to the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform Beethoven's Sixth Symphony - "Pastoral Symphony, Recollections of Country Life". I don't remember ever enjoying a piece of classical music as much. Transformed, I thought back to the first time I visited Tangl …
I was taking out the garbage the other morning and a bird fell to the ground in front of me. Although alive - I could see its little chest rise and fall - it wasn't moving. My first instinct was to try to do something but I've been taught that, in situations such as this, it is best to let nature take its course. But I watched. After a few mi …
About seven weeks ago, on June 3rd, I saw this quote in the Wall Street Journal. "No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one." (Elbert Hubbard) Approaching the half-way point of this summer, the quote haunts me. I am hearing more complaints about "trying to get away" and "paying for those few days away". I am looking forward t …
We were at a craft fair last weekend in the Berkshires. It was held at a ski slope, with most vendors setup in tents outside. There were also two lodges - one at the top of the mountain and one at the base - and some of the vendors were in the indoor lodges. There was more foot traffic outside and, unless you realized that there were vendors in t …
There’s a first for everything. When I voted in the congressional primary on Tuesday morning, I was the first ballot in my electoral district. At least the volunteers at the polling place had not been waiting in vain. I made their day. But it really wasn't good. I arrived at around 9:00 a.m. And the polls had been open for three hours. It was c …
I was driving home and was cut off by an SUV driver who decided not to make the left turn she was signaling from the left-turn lane and cut back into traffic. I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting her, sending things in the car that weren’t bolted down flying. I blasted my horn – realizing as I did that it wouldn’t make a difference. A moment lat …
