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Benjamin Geizhals
Dec05
The Mantra
Posted By : Benjamin Geizhals

“It's better to give than receive, but what goes around comes around.” The Gotham mantra kept going through my mind as I watched us bestow the Red Bandana and the Networkers of the Year Awards, and make the grants to four charities from the Gotham Foundation on Tuesday evening at the Holiday Party.   I remember when, years and years ago, we

Nancy Schess
Dec02
See You All Tonight
Posted By : Nancy Schess

Tonight is our annual Holiday party and I am looking forward to seeing all of you there. Our response this year was so fantastic that I am sort of convinced that each and every one of you will actually be there! Tonight we will announce not only our Networkers of the Year and the winners of our Summer of Giving but also the recipient of our Red B

Rona Gura
Dec02
"Don We Now Our Blank Apparel"
Posted By : Rona Gura

One of Hallmark's ornaments for the holiday season has caused controversy following the replacement of the word "gay" while quoting "Deck the Halls." The ornament, in a shape of a red Christmas sweater is decorated with the lyric, "Don we now our fun apparel." As most of you know, the traditional line from the famous Christmas song is "Don we n

Donald Bernstein
Dec01
My New Telescope
Posted By : Donald Bernstein

It was just my birthday.  I got a new telescope.  It is a Maksutov-Cassegrain 90 mm reflecting scope, and the coolest part is that it has GPS.   When it came in two boxes and I laid all the pieces out on the floor, I knew I would be challenged.  Putting things together is not my strong point and the way the instructions were written it presumed tha

Mitch Tobol
Nov30
Thanksgiving facts
Posted By : Mitch Tobol

After stuffing myself with fried turkey, brisket, potato latkes, stuffing and brussel slaw, I wondered how many other people enjoy the same. So...I went on a Thanksgiving fact finding tour and found the following morsels for you to digest.   Americans eat 736 milllion pounds of turkey every Thanksgiving That's roughly 16 lbs per person (I definitel

Fred Klein
Nov29
Giving Thanks
Posted By : Fred Klein

On this second day of the Thanksgiving weekend I would like to give thanks to all things Gotham. In the true spirit of our "It's better to give than receive, but what goes around comes around" mantra, our Tribe has enjoyed a bountiful year.In this our "Sweet 16" year we have grown geometrically to over 50 groups (stretching from Boston to South Flo

Benjamin Geizhals
Nov28
Happy Thanksgiving
Posted By : Benjamin Geizhals

Since I blog on Thursdays, I have the pleasure of using this space once a year to wish the entire Gotham family a very Happy Thanksgiving.   May you enjoy the day and share thanks with those near and dear to your heart. And may you find much to be thankful for in all that surrounds you.   Happy Thanksgiving.

Susan Pickman
Nov27
Making the World a Little Better
Posted By : Susan Pickman

It is my impression that Gothamites are positively changing our world every day.  Whether we are supporting charities, helping one another, or helping those we do not even know.  We raise our families and we contribute to our communities.  Sometimes we can even change the world a bit.   Many of you know that I am the Pickman in “Because People Lie

Nancy Schess
Nov25
What Would You Do?
Posted By : Nancy Schess

An eighth Princeton University student was diagnosed this past Friday with meningitis. To me, this is terrifying. With a daughter getting ready to head off to college next year, this outbreak has my attention, as I expect it has many parents’ attention with college age children. This latest reported student comes after the university announced th

Rona Gura
Nov25
Your Beshert
Posted By : Rona Gura

Ben’s recent blog about Yiddish got me thinking about one particular Yiddish word, “beshert.” My Mom used to call my Dad her beshert because, until the day she died, they were one of the happiest married couples I have ever seen. “Beshert” essentially means “inevitable” or “preordained.” While my husband and I do not call one another beshert

Donald Bernstein
Nov24
Our Cousin
Posted By : Donald Bernstein

I am not a fan of reality or contest TV shows, but this year I am hooked on The Voice.  And it is all because of a 17 year old girl from New Jersey.  Here is why.   My niece has been going to camp in Maine for years.  One of her best friends there is Caroline, from New Jersey.  Over those years my brother and sister in law have gotten friendly with

Mitch Tobol
Nov23
Letting go
Posted By : Mitch Tobol

This morning the Salvation Army is sending over a truck to pick up some office furniture that's in my garage. That's the technical description of what's happening. The real story is the desk I sat at for over 20 years, the flat files I used for artwork that was lovingly made for clients and the files cabinets that housed the history of the Tobol Gr

Fred Klein
Nov22
Times Change
Posted By : Fred Klein

I am a pre "Baby Boomer" and as such have witnessed Seismic change. Examples are:1) "No Smoking" in restaurants, bars, trains and planes2) People picking up dog poop 3) Medical marijuana4) Legalized gambling5) Legalized abortion6) Same sex marriage7) Fitness training-gym rats8) Running for exercise9) White wine10) People carrying their telephones

Benjamin Geizhals
Nov21
Too Much Information?
Posted By : Benjamin Geizhals

I was first asked to give a DNA sample several years ago. The request came from a cousin who had learned that a graduate student was doing research and compiling a database of Jews of Eastern European heritage. The purpose, or one of the purposes, was to possibly connect distant relatives whose parents and grandparents had been killed and/or displa

Erik Scheibe
Nov20
Just Say (OH) No!!!
Posted By : Erik Scheibe

I've seen a lot of embarassing things in my lifetime...but how would you like to be one of the wonderful citizens of the city of Toronto.  Mayor Rob Ford continues to feed the evening news with wonderful sound bites that Saturday Night Live must struggle with to actually find something funnier than the real thing.  Again, my guess is it's only funn