It’s that time again for me. As the weather starts to turn a little colder, the season makes me start thinking about vacation. The concept of vacation is such a personal thing. For me, I look forward to a good book, a glass of cold, very sweet, white wine, sunshine and a pool. I also enjoy some historical vacations. One of my favorite weeke …
Happy Halloween Gotham. When my children were younger Halloween was a big event in my house. We would spend weeks together planning and buying costumes, then the Halloween decorations would come out and finally the big day arrived. Trick or treating was always fun but, I think my favorite part was when trick or treating was done. That was the time …
Certain things I hold sacred and transend my politics. One involves that right to vote. It matters. Nothing partisan here. No place for that here or in the comments (so do not mention any candidate in the comments or find me exercising another right accorded each blogger.) I recall how important it was my fiirst time and still make it a point to vo …
A 63 year oid man, Alan Sorrentino, sent a letter to a small (5,000 circ.) Rhode Island newspaper criticizing women who wear yoga pants in public. He described yoga pants as "stinky, tacky, ridiculous looking." "They do nothing to compliment a woman over 20 years old,” he wrote in the letter, which was published on Wednesday. “In fact, the look i …
My wife Joanne was fortunate to have been in the Howdy Doody show's Peanut Gallery in the halcyon 1950s. She also won the first Met Banner Day in the turbulent 1960s. Some say she should also receive an award for navigating our family over our 50 years of marriage. What Awards have you won?
We were at the local Deli and decided to share a hot dog. I reached for the plate and a knife. "I'll cut and you choose." The words (and concept) came straight from my childhood -- an eminently fair way of dividing and sharing with others. The resolution and avoidance of possible conflict. I pondered the similarities between "I'll cut and you ch …
So I went to the Twitter Trending topics page and the first three topics I saw were: 1. Kyle Schwarber - had absolutely NO idea who that was, but World Series fans will know that he is an outfielder* that has just been added to the Cubs roster for the games. *originally I called him a pitcher, FK told me he is not. 2. Pablo Picasso - definitel …
Years ago, I blogged about the sneaker phenomenon overtaking young teens. The craze that had (and likely still has) young men waiting in line with satchels filled with used, worn sneakers waiting to sell them for profit. Today’s blog is about a more recent phenomenon that has me similarly confused. We all know (or at least I do) some teena …
On Sunday morning, my family woke up early to go to The Jets game. I was not going with them. Yet, I still planned to get up with them. My plan was to exercise, do some fall cleaning (switch out my sandals for my boots) and do some cooking for the week. I had a full morning scheduled. Instead, I spent the morning in bed finishing up the book I s …
Halloween approaches. For some it means parties, including with costumes. For many it means trick or treating. I annually share Halloween “satety tips” going back to ghosting for the elected officials I served and more recently in my civic newsletter. I also posted the tips last year on LinkedIn. I may tweet the link later this week. My …
They're in style and many men have grown them in many different lengths. Fred shaves his off and grows it back several times during the year. A friend of mine wears a goatee and extends it to a full beard then shaves it back. I've had mine for a very long time...30+ years. I can't remember not having a beard. I look at pictures of myself withou …
I have been writing my Friday With Fred blog for nearly 10 years and it has become a regular part of my life. At any time, a subject might strike me and I rush to write it on my iPhone. Contrary to another regular blogger, I tend to keep mine short and to the point and today's point is that I would like suggestions as to topics you would like to …
We just installed a new phone system in our office. Even as I attended the orientation session to learn how to use the new phone, I accepted the fact that I would probably never utilize all of its features nor realize all of its potential. I would incorporate what worked for me and settle in to a nice cooperative relationship with my new phone. Th …
Today is Jeannie C. Riley's Birthday. A nice day for some history. Released in 1968. There's still a lot of judgement going on... "Harper Valley P.T.A." (Tom T. Hall) I want to tell you all a story 'bout a Harper Valley widowed wifeWho had a teenage daughter who attended Harper Valley Junior HighWell her daughter came home one afternoon and didn …
Have you noticed that with more and more frequency a commercial is repeated in the same program cycle? You walk out of the room to grab a drink and come back to the start of the same commercial that was ending as you left. Does anyone else out there find that advertising practice annoying? I do. I suppose it does make me think again about the p …
