My stepdaughter, Danielle Gura, teaches first grade in an inclusion class (the class is populated with both mainstream and special education children) in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Fifty-five percent of the children live in transitional housing (shelters). Approximately eighty percent of the school’s students qualify for free breakfast and lunch. …
Traffic recorded a song, Sometimes I Feel So Uninspired, that applies to so much when one looks around these days for leadership in the usual places. Yet the courageous response of young people after the tragic and violent shooting murders in Parkland provides Inspiration to this correspondent. A bit more than a year ago, I shared the playlist …
Imagine walking into a restaurant, bar or public place and no one is on their phone. Lot's of interaction...people talking smiling, arguing and sharing. It's unusual these days. However, The Fat Boar, a pub in Wrexham, north Wales, is offering people 25 per cent off their food if they lock their phones away in a box on the table. They then have t …
One of my favorite songs is Dylan's Forever Young and my oft stated quest is to live to 100 and beyond. With this as background, I was very pleased to receive a link (http://bit.ly/2HFR65V) to a TED talk from Judy Mauer on the subject of "The Strongest Predictor On How Long You'll Live". According to the TED Talk, there was a Brigham Young Unive …
I was distressed in reading the reports yesterday that the top trending video on YouTube was a conspiracy theory that Florida school shooting survivor, and one of the organizers of the "March for Our Lives", David Hogg, is an actor; more precisely, a "crisis actor" -- someone who is "paid to pretend to have been affected by a tragedy for political …
From 2016: You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live as one. - John Lennon
Over the past few days, amidst funeral plans, vigils and protests, we have seen the children, really young adults, of Parkland, Florida raise their voices. They accuse the adults of having blood on their hands. With passion and strong articulate words, they speak of change they want to, better said demand to, see. They ask, can our politicians …
Next week my husband and I are travelling to Charlotte, North Carolina and then on to Charleston, South Carolina. In researching what to do in Charleston-my good friend from high school lives in Charlotte so she’ll be our “tour guide” there-it became apparent to me how rich Charleston is in history, culture, and cuisine. It also became quickly ob …
If my recollections remain correct I’ve called ten places home, three almost a sort of hiatus between more longer term stays. I thought about that as my son looks forward to his latest home. Two shared with his parents. My son experienced three of the City’s five boroughs as a home. I’ve remained in Queens with a brief early stay across its eas …
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that all of the shooters in the recent spate of our country's massacres are male. I have followed the commentary closely and not one person has made this distinction to my mind. If anyone can explain it I would welcome it. Said another way, why don't females engage in such carnage? On this subject and …
It was with nostalgic sadness that I learned that the venerable pre war Port Washington movie theater closed. Of course, with the advent of Netflix and their competitors it should not be surprising. Sad still, nonetheless. The Academy Awards will be announced on March 4th and in preparation therefor we try to see as many of the nominated films as …
Last Sunday, we got to the museum a little early and found our way to the room. The leader of the workshop asked each of us to introduce ourselves and say what we expected from the workshop. “I’m Ben and I’m here to escape outside of my comfort zone.” It was a workshop in tie-dying at the Jewish Museum in New York and was given in conjunction wit …
From History.com: "On February 14 around the year 278A.D., Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed. Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military …
I was reminiscing with a friend the other day about how much food played a part in our respective childhoods. So many of my memories circle back to something having to do with food. Whether it was a special restaurant or a special recipe, the food theme was prevalent. For example, anyone remember Cooky’s Steak Pub? It was a favorite evening …
Last weekend, I noticed a common theme in several stories in the Sunday Times. There were three major stories concerning the sexual harassment and assault of women. On the front page of the main section, there was an in depth story detailing the investigation and acts of Dr. Lawrence Nassar, who sexually assaulted numerous young female athletes. …
