The greatest champion in team sports has died. Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to 11 National Basketball Championships in 13 years. The Celtics streak of 8 straight championships is the most in any professional sport. Bill Russell arrived in Boston in 1956 with 3 significant championships. He led his college, San Francisco, to the NCAA c …
Has anyone else noticed that “of course” has become the new form of “you’re welcome”? Thank you is now often met with “of course”. Thank you for picking up dinner — “of course!”. Thanks so much for helping me with that project — “of course!”. Thanks so much for making me laugh — “of course!”. You get the drift. To be honest, I find mysel …
I am currently reading a book with an interesting premise, “The Measure.” In “The Measure” everyone on the planet, who are age 22 and older, receives a box which contains a string. The length of the string directly correlates to the age at which the recipient will die. Once the accuracy of the strings are confirmed the characters go through the e …
We took over Citi Field last Tuesday. At least one section of the Left-Field Landing. Last week’s commentary concluded with a mention of Tuesday night when some 250 of my closest friends and their family, friends and colleagues would join me at Citi Field where Friday’s bloggers Yankees and my Mets previewed a later October (and maybe early No …
I was pulled over on two Fridays ago with no license plate on the front of my car. Guilty. I was waiting for the bracket which arrived a couple of months ago and got lazy. When I handed him my insurance card, license and registration, the insurance card was old so I received two tickets. The police officer told me if I got the plate on within one …
The answer is me! For most of my life I was all too willing to share a secret. Is a shared secret still a secret?I just readily did it without introspection or remorse. As time passed people realized my tendency and stopped confiding in me. Amazingly, at this venerable stage of my life, I’ve morphed into a reliable keeper of secrets. As an examp …
I sometimes find myself in a situation where I have to make excuses for someone else. Awkward. Depending on the situation, I’ll sometimes offer that I have enough trouble making excuses for myself, let alone others.We were sitting at a table on the sidewalk outside a cafe in Great Barrington enjoying a pastry and watching people walk by. A couple s …
A new documentary takes a deep dive into the ubiquitous song, “Hallelujah”. Leonard Cohen wrote it forty years ago and it seems that the song is still everywhere. The song is often heard at weddings, political rallies, television talent shows, movies, and funerals. The true story about the writing and the almost disappearance of the song on the …
Here is my question for all of you. Do you still have a land line at home and if so, why? As my son plans his move to a new apartment in a new city, he signed up for internet and cable with the local provider. It was not even a glimmer of a passing thought to have an actual phone line. Of course, in the end – why should he? He has a cell pho …
I recently read a very interesting New York Times article. The premise of the article was how important those friends we make at our first jobs are to us both personally and professionally. The article went on to examine how the current generation of professionals are losing this benefit, due to the onslaught of virtual workplaces. As I read the …
If you read last week’s blog, you know I posted from Philly. We stayed in the historic part and just a few blocks from our hotel, we could walk to the Museum of the American Revolution. It included a special exhibit of paintings by Don Troiano recreating revolutionary era events; those painting supplemented actual artifacts, munitions, arms, gear, …
A good friend shared his grand daughter's artwork with me and it immediately inspired thoughts and potential uses. She is a smart and talented woman making her way in the world and I found her creativity and the story behind it fascinating. Inspiration is a sacred revelation that I find in many places. It can be described as exhilarating, excit …
I tested positive for COVID less than 2 weeks ago. Since the inception of the COVID 19 Pandemic I had been unscathed. As time passed, I think subconsciously, I felt immune. Afterall, I had been vaccinated with 3 added boosters. Eventually, despite constant cautionary advice, I let my guard down. For instance, I wore a mask less and less and regu …
There’s an old Yiddish expression (aren’t all Yiddish expressions “old”?) - “Man plans and God laughs.”As we come out of the restrictions of the pandemic, we are planning more. And the results are mixed.Plans are changed by last-minute (and unanticipated) Covid. Airline travel is iffy and then, there’s always the weather.So, as we make our plans, r …
In the new bio-pic “Elvis”, Baz Luhrmann, gives us a glorious look at the biggest star of the 1950’s and 1960’s. We are left looking at the Man versus the Myth. The movie plays it loose with events and chronology. Luhrmann, the director of “Moulin Rouge” and “The Great Gatsby”, is known for his over the top style that celebrates glitz over subst …
