Recent events in Paris bring me back to September 11, 2001 and its aftermath. For several years, beginning in the late 1990's, we visited Paris with friends for a long weekend in December to celebrate Flo and our friend’s birthdays. In those early years, I found Parisians to be less-than-welcoming to Americans. The cause -- whether it was the …
Amid all the anger, the sadness, the hostility, the revenge minded and retaliatory rhetoric, this story from The Independent stands above and beyond. I can't do any better this week: The husband of a woman killed in the Paris attacks has written a touching message to the “love of my life” and promised to raise their 17-month-old son “happy and fre …
I sat down to try to write another blog but just could not. Friday night Bill was out with friends and my son and I had a “mother-son” dinner. [Bacon wrapped steak and a boulder blossom at Boulder Creek, his current favorite meal]. We were together as the events in Paris were being reported. We watched together and talked. He was intently in …
I had to follow up Mitch’s blog about the horror in Paris with one of my own. Mitch did an incredible job writing about the facts. For me, today, it’s all about the emotions. As I commented on Mitch’s blog on Sunday, two days after the attacks, “My heart hurts.” The Sunday Times reported that many of the victims at the concert and the resta …
I have very low tolerance for broken things. Mainly because I am not good at fixing them. Most of it is a matter of patience, and when it comes to things that don't work, I have very ittle. Like when I turn on the TV and all I see is fuzz. I look around at the five remote controls in the closet, slam the door closet door shut, and ask Eve to call …
France has declared a national state of emergency and tightened borders after at least 128 people were killed in a night of gun and bomb attacks in Paris. Eighty people were reported killed after gunmen burst into the Bataclan concert hall where an American band (Eagles of Death Metal) was playing and took hostages before security forces stormed …
I have kept a hand written daily diary religiously since 1/1/70. It is a ritual which serves many many purposes. Some of the positive benefits are historical and others are mental. I started reading it 11 years ago and each night I am reading 34 years ago today and a year ago today. The benefit of such perspective is immeasurable. The invariabl …
The Downtown Marriott in Chicago has a nice bar in the lobby. A great big screen with six different TV screens dominates one side. Six different sporting events on one screen. The bar is a real gathering place. We were sitting at the bar. I am not sure whether we said something or the man sitting next to Flo started the conversation. It's easy …
The greatest gift Gotham gives us is the gift of interaction, engagement and participation with our fellow Gothamites. It reveals who we truly are and what we truly want. A gift unique to Gotham, that you can create events based on your interests, just be prepared to take charge. This is not just the origin of the Film festival, but Battle of the B …
I am not sure I have ever written a movie review blog. But here goes. This past weekend, we saw “Truth”, the movie about what came to be known as Rathergate, the news story that took down Dan Rather. Regardless of whether you lean the same way as the movie, I recommend visiting a movie theatre soon to take this one in. First, really excellent …
I have been thinking and talking a lot lately about reinventing oneself. Many of my clients seem to want to change careers or other aspects of themselves after going through a divorce. I am not a therapist but it seems like a natural progression to me. A good friend-who has not gone through a divorce-has seemed to reinvent herself as a very …
According to Robin Williams's widow, he suffered Lewey body dementia and he took his life to avoid having to live with the progressively worsening symptoms of the disease. These symptoms include hallucinations, often of animals and children, according to an article in the New York Times this week. The early stages of the disease, when a person ha …
For the first time since 1994, Central Park and LaGuardia have reached at least 70° four consecutive days in the month of November so let's get serious for a minute... Exxon Mobil is being investigated by the New York attorney general’s office to determine whether the company lied to consumers about climate change risks or lied to investors about …
After 18 years of existence I venture to say that our Gotham Tribe is pretty amazing!Our unique giving culture has resulted in countless fruitful and sometimes miraculous results. Having said that, there is one draw back: We are sometimes too humble and we keep the good deeds between ourselves and the involved parties. In my opinion what we need …
For quite a while, I had fantasized about writing this blog. It would have been after a Game Six or Game Seven clinching of the World Series by the Mets. But that, as it turned out, was a fantasy. The “would have been” did not materialize. We were in Lenox, Massachusetts last weekend while the Mets were hosting the Royals at Citifield. There was …
