Gotham meetings are like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're going to get. But it is ALWAYS going to be interesting. At Gotham MAD yesterday, among all the wonderful people who attended, was Lucas Hunt, Auctioneer (guest of the Battle of the Bands judge, David Mack). Fred, being Fred and always wanting a new experience, asked him to a …
I have a particular taste in wine. Most who know anything about wine at all, (mostly) politely chuckle when I order. My standing question to a server or a bartender is – “What is the sweetest white wine you have on your menu?” Ideally, the answer is a sweet Riesling or even better a Moscato. [I did learn about Ice Wine not that long ago bu …
On Friday morning I started, what will be, a long custody trial. As most lawyers will tell you, trial work can be emotionally and physically exhausting as well as mentally challenging. You really have to be “on” 100% of the time throughout the entire proceeding. Custody trials, by their nature, can be emotionally draining not only on the litigants …
Next Sunday, one day following the First 100 days of the current administration, Gotham hosts its annual Battle of the Bands. Discussions about politics tend towards controversy and division. Music tends to bring people of different persuasions together. Friday I posted the text of my presentation last Wednesday eve hosted by the Gotham Exec …
In honor of Earth day today, I thought I might share some interesting facts: • First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day is now is observed in over 190 countries. • In 1969, peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to be celebrated on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphe …
I have learned why I have become addicted to my iPhone and Social Media. For background, please read my Friday With Fred blog of two weeks ago: I'm Addicted. It seems that when one garners a Facebook "Like" or comment it stimulates the body to produce the chemical dopamine and when that happens, as the great James Brown exclaimed, "I Feel Good!"I …
At Tuesday's meeting of the Long Island Women's Group, the guest speaker, Joshua Lafazan, told us how, as a high school student, he started an anti drunk driving program that provided safe and free rides to students to avoid driving while intoxicated or being a passenger. Three hundred and fifty rides were provided in 2016. This relatively sm …
Recently its been coming up more and more, the importance of using your words carefully and intentionally. In my life, I've been pretty careless with words. I was raised in a clever, articulate, SARCASTIC household - mix in a little alcohol (maybe not a little) and you get desensitized to how things feel to others. I admire Fred's ability to love …
If you know me at all, you know that I am not afraid of a podium or a microphone. But the process of preparing a eulogy for my father, someone who I have always looked up to and admired, was unlike any preparation I had done in the past. I kept hearing Fred in my head. He won’t remember this, but years ago I remember Fred talking about the imp …
I always thought of myself as a good patient. I rarely, if ever, take a sick day from work. In fact, I do not recall the last time I did. I push myself to get whatever I need to get finished, no matter how I feel. Sunday, I woke up with an apparent stomach virus. I stayed in my room most of the day in my pajamas, alternating between complaining, …
The Doors second LP, Strange Days, featured a song, People Are Strange. Strange days indeed as one consider the world around us (More on that later.). I strategize. I plan. Not all the time but certainly when things matter. Sometimes, for some matters, I might need to think fast, almost to the point of brinkmanship. Even where one m …
As I prepare to celebrate Easter with my family, I am reminded how fallible we, humans, are. Even bible printers 300 years ago made mistakes. In New Jersey, a 300-year-old Bible at Christ Episcopal Church sits locked in a glass case, untouched since 1916. It's opened to Luke 20, and that is not random. There, on the heading of the left-hand page, …
So much is going on in his first 100 days and there is so much polarization in our country. It truly is enough to make One's head spin. No matter your political leaning or how you feel about the style and manner of POTUS, we are still one country. We need to settle down, find common ground and perpetuate our unique democracy, i.e.: "indivisable, …
I have often written about tradition and I very proudly relate yet one more story. At the Passover Seder (the traditional meal at which the story of the exodus from Egypt is retold), we eat bitter herbs (to remember the bitterness of slavery). For the bitter herbs, my family uses raw horseradish. I remember my father grating the large horseradish …
Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep.I am a thousand winds that blow,I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grainI am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning's hush,I am that swift uplifting rushOf quiet birds in circled flight.I am the soft star that shines at night. Do not stand a …
