When I think about the approach of Thanksgiving, I think about more than giving thanks for my family, friends, colleagues and my life. More and more the focus involves giving. I only hope I do enough. The Tuesday that follows Thanksgiving – Giving Tuesday – represents a culmination of giving efforts through Gotham. As Friday’s blogger repeatedly reminds us on Fredslist and various Gotham groups he attends, Gotham’s Holiday Party that eve features the selection of charities th...

It’s a secret!   Not the event. It appears on a couple of calendars found on line – at the New York Grand Lodge Knights of Pythias website’s “Pythian Events” link and on the host FDR Lodge 613 website calendar.   But telling what happens remains a no go. All I can share about the event is I organized it so friends I play basketball with in Floral Park, Queens can fulfill their obligation to “take the ranks” as members in our Lodge that covers their twice weekly basketball.   ...

I do not recall feeling like this last fall. Perhaps because I had most of the summer 2018 to ease into things. All I know is some sort of void exists. My team plays no longer. The only recent event involved a firing of the manager. On the other hand Friday's blogger’s team still plays. I find I really miss watching my team and attending the games.   While I plan to be there Opening Day 2020 and already took 145 RSVPs between Gotham City Networking and my FDR Lodge 613 Knight...

Independence Eve my wife and I enjoyed hanging out with some 250 of our closest friends, their spouses, (some of their) other family members, their friends and associates, and some clients. What better place to hold such a gathering than Citifield, home of my beloved (albeit underperforming in won-loss records and certain aspects of playing a game I know rather well) New York Mets. This outing represents the fifth year running these kind of outings. Each year gets better. The...

With the start of summer, Gotham initiates a Season of Giving. At last’s Thursday’s meeting of Gotham Queens (which I nicknamed “GQ” when it rebooted under new leadership a few years back), we circulated an envelope. The idea is fives, tens and twenties much the way grass-roots on line fundraising is the craze in politics. The difference: instead of a candidate, you insert your business card with the name of your preferred charity on it. At the Gotham Holiday/ Winter Cocktail...

With Spring comes a number of “flings” – that means fundraisers. Many adopt causes. Some causes adopt others. Some come from relationships and involvements. Certainly explains mine.   I chair the Board of Directors on Services Now for Adult Persons (“SNAP” before the acronym had other worthy uses!). The Board’s biggest concern involves the completion of a new center to house several of our programs and offices, including a senior center serving four communities where I spent...

Tempted   Out with friends for dinner with more than a few couples before a charity function sponsored by my Knights of Pythias (FDR) Lodge, the ladies evidently were discussing plans ahead and my wife shared our plans for next weekend. Our friend Abby asked how many times Shelly and I attended a Squeeze show. I responded at least four.   That answer was correct only to how many shows we attended together through the summer of 2008. Since that time, we we experienced lead...

I knew the time would be soon.   Much of the summer I gave thought to it.   Retirement.   After basketball this morning, I stopped home before continuing on some usual errands, including checking the P.O. Box, gassing up my car, and sometimes a bank deposit.   I needed to pick up a civic association check to pay my neighborhood printer, Gotham's own Scott Levine (not the lawyer) who also prints my FDR Lodge 613 Knights of Pythias bulletin, The Beam. Since I stopped in for th...

As some know I enjoy maintaining my own website. Credit my son Jonathan who taught his dad enough code and who built some nifty sites (two still running) while in middle school. With a little help from my son who did not like the planned homepage banner and developed a nicer looking one (see pic), I redeveloped the website for a fraternal and charitable organization I am involved with. The Knights of Pythias a “non-sectarian fraternity, founded in Washington, DC, by Justu...