One of the driving forces in my life was the lack of direct praise I received from my father.  Yes, his friends told me how proud he was of me, but it was a hollow substitute.   As a result I was determined to share my ample pride with my sons and I think I did a far better job than my dad.   I am so proud of them! That gets me to Chris Wallace of Fox. If only his dad, the famous 60 Minutes out spoken reporter Mike Wallace, were alive to hear his son proclaim "You don't get to tell us what to do".

At first, I thought that the photograph on the front page of yesterday's Wall Street Journal was historical. As a child of Holocaust survivors, I have seen many pictures of gravestones toppled at Jewish cemeteries in Europe during the 1930's.

"Our situation is not comparable to anything in the past. It is impossible, therefore, to apply methods and measures which at an earlier age might have been sufficient. We must revolutionize our thinking, revolutionize our actions, and must have the courage to revolutionize relations among nations of the world.

  My son turned 17 last week. Yes, that was momentous on its own -- but what was really game changing was Eric's first unaccompanied drive. Having passed his road test a little while back, turning 17 meant taking the car to school for the first time. Since then, he has very happily run errands, filled the car with gas, and this morning made a trip to the bagel store to buy us all breakfast.  

In the spirit of the open discussion that Mitch began last week, I share the following thoughts.  

Recent blogs on this website – not mine – focused on political discourse and the need to embrace civility.  

My blog last week mentioned heroic conversations. Did you know that there is actually an heroic converstaions model? Adam Vane apparently created it or at least said he did. He describes it as "... a technique designed to reduce friction and increase productivity within an organization."   I think all of us can benefit from less friction and conflict.  

One of the best books I read when I was young was Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land (Biblical phrase) which has been referenced frequently in popular music.  Well I am no longer young and I feel as if I am a stranger in a strange land when, for example, I get on the subway in Long Island City along with the throng transferring from the Brooklyn train which parades by sporting their art, tats and sleeves on their arms, legs, faces, chests, backs and who knows where else.