Do you remember Rod Serling?  He was the creator of the amazing off the wall, but sometimes true to life, "Twilight Zone". Twilight Zone was a strange mix of horror, science fiction, drama, comedy and superstition with many black and white episodes concluding with a surprise ending. Well, many years have passed since Serling introduced an episode and yet I feel we have reentered the Twilight Zone. 

We packed a deck of cards, Scrabble and books for our long holiday weekend in the Berkshires. The weather app was predicting a likelihood of rain and we wanted to be prepared.

My attitude is that I’m less concerned about what you’re wearing on your lapel than what’s in your heart," he told the campaign crowd Thursday. "You show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those who serve. You show your patriotism by being true to our values and ideals. That’s what we have to lead with is our values and our ideals. - Barack Obama  

  Early in the morning, my dad put the flag into its special perch on our front porch. Most times, it was up before I was. But it was part of our tradition for July 4th.

Sometimes I feel as though the world is changing so quickly that I cannot keep up. My children are using technology in ways I could never have imagined. And, to them, it’s practically second hand.  

Read the other day how better health care and other environmental factors may allow some of us or others our near future to reach age 150 (and our Friday blogger only seeks 1/3 of that number).   I found myself musing what activities might one pursue approaching well short of those numbers.  

I've been asked many times what my favorite meal is and my answer changes each time. Although I do have a couple of favorite restaurants, it has as much to do with the people I'm with as much as the food.   For restaurants, nothing beats the chicken scapriello at Steve's Piccola Busaala, or the steak at Bryant & Cooper and the veal milanese at Trattoria Di Meo. I had some excellent pizza and salad last night at Pizza Beach in the City.  

One of my favorite questions that I ask in an interview is "Who is your favorite historical figure?"   The answers are both interesting and revealing.  Recently an interviewee said Abraham Lincoln.  Clearly, he is a worthy choice.  However, it might be too obvious.  My favorites are those where the person digs down.   Joanne turned the question on me and I pondered for a while, dug down and came up with Branch Rickey.