Last weekend, we were at a family wedding in Schroon Lake, New York in the Adirondack foothills. Many of the festivities were in the town of Lake George. Being there for a few days caused me to rethink my life-long voiced preference for beach over mountains. I love the beach. However, I have come to accept that looking o …
I don't where these originated, I heard them from Deepak Chopra. We could change the world with these questions. Especially Facebook. 1. Is it true? 2. Is it kind? 3. Is it necessary? My darling wife, Sheilagh, said: "Then there will be no cat videos for you." Oh no, I said cat videos are necessary. I find them so soothing. You may prefe …
I have little occasion to find myself inside a bank anymore. As a child growing up, I have distinct recollection of my first Citibank passbook. I couldn’t wait to physically go to the bank, make a deposit, and see how the amount would change. But now, I don’t ever physically go into the bank. There just so little need. Deposits can b …
As I watched the coverage of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, I noticed that I was extremely uncomfortable watching the news reporters give live feeds from outside during the storms. I watched, with a bit of disbelief, a news reporter from CNN reporting from the middle of the flooded streets of Miami advising everyone that there was a mandatory curfew i …
This morning into afternoon members of the Bearak, Stone and Stark clans gather to celebrate a special milestone: Mom’s 80th. If not for my involvement a primary election involving my good friend and client, the party (and this blog) would have occurred the weekend before. Anyway, mom got a nice present when she got to visit and view the new apar …
How often do you lie to your friends or loved ones? I'll bet it's more than you are willing to admit. No one wants to be the bearer of bad news, but the fact is that in this life, you often have to be cruel to be kind. Protecting other people's feelings, most times, doesn't do anything but make situations worse. I've had close friends lie to me a …
You may know that we have had a house in Paradise (Key West) for 20 years and some have even rented it. It is a small house on a nice street with many neighborly people. Cayce dubbed it the Klein Cottage and may have been our last visitor. I am writing this last Sunday morning as Irma is making land fall in Paradise as a Category 4 hurricane wit …
As I tore myself away from CNN to write this blog, a zipper across the screen reported that power would be restored in eastern Florida by this weekend and in western Florida by September 22nd. I reflected. That's about the length of time that it took to restore electricity to our home after Sandy. Empathy. "The capacity to understand or feel wh …
I knew if I wrote a blog about HRC, that it would be potentally polarizing. She brings up a lot of strong feelings in people. My reason for writing the blog becomes, then, more appropriate. I want to write about not caring what people think of me. Coco Chanel has a great quote which I used to adore: “I don't care what you think about me. I don't t …
We have family and friends in Florida. We have family and friends in Texas. Watching the back to back devastation caused by two catastrophic storms over the last few weeks has been difficult. As Rona blogged yesterday, the memories for those who lived through Sandy are real. For me, the worst part has been a profound feeling of help …
We have family and friends in Florida. We have family and friends in Texas. Watching the back to back devastation caused by two catastrophic storms over the last few weeks has been difficult. As Rona blogged yesterday, the memories for those who lived through Sandy are real. For me, the worst part has been a profound feeling of help …
In the past, I would have followed the reporting of hurricanes, earthquakes etc. with a sense of empathy but, admittedly, also with a bit of apathy. In this world in which we are immediately connected to world events through the internet, it is easy to become a bit emotionally detached from world events. I noticed, however, that my interest in Hu …
Last week I wrote of possibly starting over, technology-wise. This week, an update of sorts. Wednesday after attending a funeral for the dad of a friend with whom I play basketball, I powered up my phone and found an alert from the Manhasset Apple Store. It advised the MacBook Pro I brought in only four days before for repair was ready for …
As the folks in the Houston area are recovering, Floridians are bracing themselves. As I write this Hurricane Irma is just starting to hit the keys...see here. Apparently it hit Cuba and the wind speeds have descreased to only 130 mph and who knows where Jose will land. I was curious this morning to know if there were other significant weather ev …
I have been mistaken or compared to the Dos Equis beer former pitchman-Most Interesting Man in the World and I have often cracked "I'm his stunt double". Draw your own conclusion from the above Photo. Two weeks ago Debbie Lindner informed me that The Man was appearing at nearby Bottle Buys and urged me to go and meet him. In preparation I googled …
