Last Sunday, I attended the annual commemoration of the Holocaust at Temple Emanu-el in New York City. It made me sad -- indeed sadder than I can remember ever being after attending the somber event in the past few years. At one point during the commemoration, as they have done every year, there is a candle lighting during which thirty-six cand …
There is a “No Right Turn on Red” sign in my neighborhood that is, to say the least, annoying. There seems to be no justification for the prohibition on right turns on red at that spot. And, it is a long light. Oftentimes, I witness drivers stopping at the red light, looking around -- for cars and police -- and making the prohibited turn. Some …
Between Passover and Easter - a time to reflect on tradition and family. This year was the first year that our generation was the oldest generation at my brother and sister-in-law's seder table. But we were lucky to still have three generations around the table. I remember my son on my father's knee. Now it is my knee. The tradition goes on.
Today is the beginning of the NCAA basketball tournament -- otherwise often referred to as “March Madness”. I didn't fill out my brackets and selections for the office pool. I participate in two office pools: one is a lottery pool and the other is the Superbowl pool. Both of these pools are completely random -- a function of luck and chance. Un …
I have met "The Professor" several times, mostly through mutual friends. She taught at a major University in New York City. She was, by all accounts, a very popular and beloved teacher. I learned recently that The Professor was no longer teaching. I doubt that there was "cause" for her leaving -- certainly her departure was not the result of a …
Every so often a tragedy strikes that, while not impacting us directly, does. Such was the tragedy that struck a young family early last Sunday morning as they were being driven to the hospital for the birth of their first child and were hit by another car and killed. The baby was delivered but died the next day. By any account, it is, indeed, …
We have two "land-line" phones in our house. Originally, they were both through Verizon, a traditional telephone provider that traces itself to the break-up of the old AT&T. Years ago, we changed one of the lines to our cable provider and bundled it with Internet and cable TV. But we kept the traditional Verizon line. It was a good thing. D …
The Cinema Arts Centre, an independent film venue in Huntington, is one of our favorite places. When we were there over the weekend, I noticed a fascinating commonality among the three movies that were being shown. They all had to do with old age. "Quartet" is a glimpse into the lives of four former stars of the opera who live in a retirement home …
Happy Valentine's Day. I had been thinking about blogging about Valentine's Day. I even did a little research on the history and tradition that brought us to this day of declaring our love. The punch line would have asked about your plans for Valentine's Day. But the announcement that wrestling was being removed as an Olympic sport trumps that …
A few days ago, after a morning workout at the gym, I went to the snack bar for my "regular". The woman behind the counter greeted me with a smile and asked "The Regular?" A nod. Another nod and the breakfast smoothie with pineapple, mango, in orange juice, with a vanilla protein shot was under way. It's amazing how my "Regular" has morphed ove …
I don't remember many telephone numbers anymore. I don't think it is a result of not being able to remember them (although others may question that) but I simply don't have to remember the numbers. For the numbers I call most frequently, I have to remember the speed dials -- what character I assigned to which person. Otherwise, the number is ri …
Of course it mattered that Earl was alive and Johnny would figure out what happened when they were on the flight back to New York. Eddie put the gun away. He heard the gunfire in the room, knew Johnny thought Earl was dead and that Eddie had some part in it, and didn't know what Johnny might do when he saw him. Eddie wasn't sure whether he woul …
This came over the news yesterday. A 32 year old middle school teacher in California was fired when it was discovered that she had been in the adult entertainment industry prior to becoming a teacher. Apparently, students found videos of her online. She appealed her termination and the Commission on Professional Competence upheld the termination. T …
As I looked through the newspaper on New Year's Day morning, I couldn't help but notice the listing of college football bowl games that would be inundating the television screen during the day and evening. I saw that Northwestern was playing and, since I was home, I put on the TV to watch. My son, Charles, went to Northwestern. That's my connectio …
They didn't want to know -- wanted it to be a surprise. The gender, that is. Flo and I were OK with that -- not that we had much choice -- even after we realized that if they didn't want to know, we wouldn't know. Apparently it takes effort to make sure you don't find out. Warnings on charts to assure that there is no slip and inadvertent disclosu …
