Do you remember The Invisible Man? In that H.G. Wells book a scientist invents a way to become invisible. Well today our youth oriented society has relegated many of my vintage to virtual, if not actual, invisible status :( Have you ever noticed how many people look through or just ignore you? Have you ever noticed how older people have adopted t …
Before the Stoned Age, in my college Freshman year I met Stuie and we became fast friends. I mean Hardy Boys friends! We had so many incredible adventures which are not appropriate to describe in a Family newspaper (despite the fact that the Statute of Limitations has expired) :) We are original members of the Charter Syracuse University Bad Boys …
I’m a slave to Routine! For example, see last week’s Friday With Fred blog Cafe’ Con Leche :) Am I OCD? Who’s to say? One person’s poison is another person’s medicine :) I was once very lazy and came to the realization that I needed a reformation. In the process of reforming myself I developed a daily morning through night routine which serves …
Every weekday morning I get up bright and early and go to 5 Brothers (pictured) for the best coffee on the island served up by Pepe. I wait my turn as the early bird (before 6:30 official opening time) regulars troop in for their daily dose of caffeine. The regulars occupy the main bench next to the entrance and can be heard in their exuberant p …
My friend’s daughter Allison calls me “Uncle Fred” and she’s in her last year of Girl Scouts and she’s got it in her head that she wants to go out in a flourish and what better way than to set the record for Girl Scout Cookie sales! Being a good “Uncle”, I’m all in and, of course, gave her an order, but then last Friday her dad was on our weekl …
The thing that makes me most anxious is flying :(Not the fear of flying (crashing), but the days before agony of worrying about COVID, the weather, cancellations, delays or diversion. The sleepless night before. The too early wake up, the getting to the airport early, waiting on line for boarding passes, checking your bags, clearing security, the …
Ever since our boys were young we’ve decorated our hearth with Santas big and small. As the years passed “Santas” became a hallowed, enjoyable family tradition with our grand kids replacing our now adult sons with me as the only constant. Then came COVID and we were compelled to break tradition last year. It was a very sad and difficult decision, …
Our granddaughter Maggie came home from college for the holidays last week and stayed with us due to illness in her home. Her stay was highlighted by our parenting her through previously scheduled LASIK eye surgery. Was she nervous? Was there anxiety? Were there thoughts of backing out? Of course! She’s so down to earth. So human. So natural …
The best word to describe the afterglow generated by last week’s annual Holiday Party is the Yiddish word Kvell, which I jokingly described as a “Legal term” during the party, but is more accurately defined as “to be extraordinarily pleased; to be bursting with pride, as over one’s family.”So many operative/descriptive words:I was extraordinarily p …
Nothing personifies our Gotham mantra more than our Season of Giving initiative. It is truly Better to give than receive, but what goes around comes around and it did last night at our Holiday Party! The Party was a rousing ("Best Ever") success with over 60 Gothamites in attendance. So much transpired that space may not allow me to …
Thanksgiving is always a bountiful and enjoyable holiday, but this year’s was extra special as our immediate Family convened at (older son) David and Julie’s house. Yes, David carved the Turkey, but, unquestionably, the driving force was Julie. She did it all!Putting aside all her shopping and preparation while holding down a full time job, she ex …
One of my favorite “getting to know you” conversational tools is to ask a person to tell me their life story in 5 minutes or less and then listen intently for reusable nuggets. An ancillary benefit is, if the person is worthy, he or she would then ask me to tell mine. Try it. You’ll like it :)
The following is based upon a student interviewing someone he considers “Successful” for a class assignment. The interview question was “How do you define success?”I was struck by so many of the following responses which were packed with what I consider valuable, sage, advice:Each point of your life you think about success in terms of the next obj …
When I was young there was a lovely character on the Howdy Doody show named Princess Summerfallwinterspring. Such a creative moniker!As I grew older, I always remembered the Princess as we reveled in our good fortune to enjoy New York’s full 4 season splendor: Spring and it’s green regeneration, sparkling Summer sun at the beach and colorful Fall …
Thank you Corey Bearak for introducing me to Twitter!While I only have 351 Followers, I follow Twitter religiously as it is my top source of real-time, in the moment, news. And it delivers much more!
Fridays With Fred
A perfect way to send you into your weekend