I pledge allegiance to our Flag. Yes, our Flag! Every day I see Old Glory displayed ostentatiously and prominently in countless places and it makes me feel so proud and grateful to have been born in the USA! I refuse to see it as other than a strikingly vivid symbol of our democracy. Nothing more! Nothing less!
Both Joanne and I have been vaccinated and were becoming comfortable with life as it used to be. We returned to the gym, dined indoors and enjoyed breathing fresh air without the annoying hindrance of a mask. And then along came this insidious Delta Variant and our world was thrown akimbo! What to do? Who to listen to? It’s scary. It’s com …
As I get older I feel less need to take or get credit for an idea I conceive or good deed I do.
When I first learned that my fanfav Aaron Judge and 9 other Yankee teammates would be sidelined for 10 days for testing positive for Covid I was crestfallen. Seriously dim viewed! But, as usual, my time tested adage “Up is down and down is up” proved true as the Yankees dipped into their minor league system for replacements and some, if not all, s …
I endeavor to do my small part to conserve the environment and save our planet. Some of the things I do (not necessarily in the order of significance) are: Turn shower water off when soaping Keep the thermostat at 60 degrees in Winter Turn AC off when temperature’s 75 degrees or lower Use econogas gear in my car Use Regular gas Use LED light bu …
I start by positing that most everyone operates as if they are the center of the universe. And most everyone is motivated by self interest. If you recognize and operate under these core principles you will best be able to negotiate the difficult twists and turns of life. Harmony occurs when you find parallel interests with someone. Synergy is …
Are you your own worst enemy? Are you afraid to ask someone to do you a favor? Are you a prisoner of your inhibitions? Do you need a push or nudge? Then read on: It is my tried and true experience that, more times than not, when I muster up my pluck and make The Ask I am almost always pleasantly surprised. After all, what’s the worst thin …
Can you believe I really don’t listen to the words of a song? Talk about being one dimensional! What’s more, I don’t read books. I listen to them. As a consequence of this unusual quirky combination, I recently heard Dylan’s lyrics of The Times They Are-A Changin’ for maybe the very first time. Here’s how it happened. I’m listening to a very re …
Whenever a difficult situation presents itself I am heard to say “Up is down and down is up.” So much so that people that know me oft times say it before me. I can’t really say where I got it from (maybe it's because I’m left handed and think on the unconventional side of my brain), so I did some (Google) research and learned that in “1984“ Orwel …
Last night Gotham held its first Virtual Gotham Battle of the Bands (BOTB) competition sponsored by Jason Greenberg and The Phoenix Adjusters Group, Inc. and the Winners were: Tara O’Grady-First Prize($2000 and Show Case at Cafe Wha?), Parkway South-Second Prize ($1000) and Sound Judgment-Third Prize ($500). It was the first Virtual BOTB and ho …
Last night the North of 25A Book Group hosted a Zoom discussion with Pulitzer Prize winning author Dave Barry. Our group had read his wonderful, humorous and poignant 2019 book, Lessons From Lucy. Lucy is his dog :) Having been turned around/converted about dogs 8 years ago by the advent of my beloved Charcoal, the book resonated especial …
As I continue to keep on living my Forever Young fantasy, I realize that, however I may really look, my countenance is naturally masked by my beard. Quite an advantage males have in this respect!Is my face sagging, do I have aged lines? I have no idea, as my face is grown over. What’s more, a smile is quite an umbrella :)Yes my mask is silver, bu …
Gothamites Mitch Tobol, Odey Raviv and I belong to the North of 25A Book Group (pictured) and on Saturday we hosted long time Gotham member Tony Celano for discussion of his latest book, The Case of The Cross Eyed Strangler. Rather than sitting on his laurels, Tony's "encore" comes in the form of Detective Story author. It was Tony’s second Book …
On Tuesday we returned to a perennial favorite Saloon. We were excited to go and we were welcomed by the familiar staff. On the eve of Cuomo’s loosening of restrictions, no table seated more than four and they were well spaced along the walls with no seats at the bar and no tables in the middle of the room. As we eagerly approached the Saloon ent …
Events Chairman Norm Spizz and our Golf Committee (Brad Scherer, Corey Bearak, David Perry, Fred Morante, Jayne Latz, Laurel Scarr-Konel, Matt Plociak, Neal Berman, Reliable Ray Walcott, Shelley Simpson, Steve Reisner and Vincent Derogotis) are hard at work preparing for our October 7th Bob Formica Golf Out at Engineers Country Club where we got ou …
Fridays With Fred
A perfect way to send you into your weekend