About a month ago in between a lovely Bar Mitzvah service for a friend's grandson in Dobbs Ferry and the evening reception in Hastings on the Hudson, Shelly and I visited with our son Jonathan and his lovely wife, Carrie at their apartment in the Greystone section of Yonkers, above five minutes from the reception. Somehow the discussion turned to …
As I share in every commentary on the second Sunday of May, I enjoy a special benefit of Sunday blogging: I get to wish all the mom’s a special Happy Mother’s Day. Today, I spend time with mom; my brother Richy visited her yesterday. Our son and his wife hosted his mom and I yesterday between a morning bar mitzvah and evening reception; Jonath …
I was thinking about those “politics and religion-free” zones we create? They’re predicated on the notion that talking about politics or religion always leads to arguments, hurt feelings, and broken relationships. I have determined them to be of little value; in fact, I find them to be harmful. Conversations about politics and religion are neces …
A week ago this morning found Shelly and I at the Legislative Breakfast of the Queens Jewish Community Council (“QJCC”) at the Young Israel of Jamaica Estates. Shelly does not usually join me at these breakfasts but this year our daughter got installed as a director by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. I posted the proud parent moment to …
The Football playoffs started yesterday and I paid no attention with my team (way) out of it. I did notice that I picked correct on yesterday’s outcome for a pool with my friend Eric that started with two seasons back. It often put us in the hate position of picking our team’s opponent even while we rooted for our team to prevail. That all said my …
“Have your people call my people” – one of those catch phrases that I’ve heard over the years and never paid much attention to until recently when I noticed that there are no “people”. The “people” have been replaced by scheduling apps. I am intentional when it comes to my calendar – perhaps it’s a control thing - but I also appreciate the many …
Most folk know this commentator’s affinity for live music. I enjoy attending concerts – immensely. I was viewing a YouTube video and I saw a few links to top 10 live albums. Both I checked out involved vinyl. I had a few on each list. While I like such lists, I never thought to list a top ten of my live LPs. It got me curious to how many Live …
For years I have been part of a study group that explores ancients texts. It serves as a religious exercise, a connection to our history, and for me it serves as an exercise in self-exploration. At times we have spent an hour focused on the meaning of one word and how it might apply to modern life. Recently we studied a passage focused on bles …
Shelly likes to ride her bike and this hobby involves visits to different parks in Queens (so far). One Sunday, it was Cunningham Park. For several times over the summer, we headed over to Little Bay Park across from Fort Totten from where she rode the Joe Michaels Mile nestled along Little Neck Bay and the Cross Island Parkway. Alley Pond Park has …
This commentary's title reflects more than a great song. It reflects the feeling last week following my baseball team in the NLDS. It also became the name of great song and video lists I got moved to create after the Mets clinched their divisional series at home and joined some labor colleagues outside at a fire pit. Let me start by sharing I wa …
New York City is a city of neighborhoods, each distinct yet inextricably linked to the others, a clear example of the “whole being greater than the sum of its parts.” The borders are sometimes stark and other times blurred – they create containers for myriad human activities. At the core, neighborhoods are all about the people who live in them an …
So a funny thing happened on X last week. At least I thought so. Daughter Marisa texted a link to a post to X by Politico's Jeff Coltin that included a pic of buttons a former City Council Member and State Senator from my home borough of Queens posted for sale on Facebook. Marisa noticed some of the buttons also "appear" in my two collections dis …
First off, I thank my friend, architect and Gotham GREEN® co-chair, Josh Zinder for pinch-hitting in this space for me last week. Shelly and I attended a Pythian Supreme Lodge Convention in Roanoke, Virginia, Monday through Thursday where good friend and Gotham Queens member Craig Shink got elected and installed as Supreme Master of Arms (If all p …
In the dog days of summer, I went to Montana to fish in the Madison, Yellowstone, and Beaverhead rivers. On the third day of amazing fishing my guide helped me hit the Montana Grand Slam and caught all 4 species in the Yellowstone watershed Whitefish, Rainbow trout, my first ever Cutthroat trout, and my personal best Brown trout. All in the longes …
While most of the world fixated on two presidents for a variety of reasons, some not so good, last week I explored two earlier presidents who hailed from New York. My wife and daughter like brief jaunts to the Hudson Valley and this one featured visits to Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) Library and Museum and National Historic Site in Hyde Park and the …
