Nancy, with her defining moments post yesterday, has set me up nicely for my first ever guest post on Gotham. September 11, 2001 and September 11, 2005 were both defining moments in my life. And defining moments become the stories that we tell and retell in the hope that we can make some sense of them.  

The theory orfrelativity has always eluded me despite my best efforts to try to understand it.  Now, finally I am getting some relief in the form of Walter Isaacson's 2007 biography of Einstein.  He devotes a full chapter (the Miracle Year) to special relativity and does a great job.  I am not hopelessly lost, in part because Einstein based his theory on his own throught experiments, not lab work or complex mathematics.

Most of the time when I'm walking through the City I am approached by someone looking for money and from my last experience, they are getting very creative now.   I was in front of Grand Central Station enjoying the beautiful day and the architecture when a man came right up to me and said "Do you speak Hebrew?" I immediately stopped and looked at him. He was, in my judgement, in his late 40's early 50's, dressed casually in a short sleeved polo and jeans pulling a suitcase on wheels. He did not appear to be a beggar.  

Sly and The Family Stone had a great song: Every Day People. This is a story about one of those people.  

Happy and Healthy New Year!   There's a custom associated with the Jewish New Year to dip sliced apple and/or challah in honey -- to bring in a sweet new year.   With that tradition in mind, Flo and I made our way to the Framer's Market in West Tisbury (Martha's Vineyard) last week to get honey for ourselves and family.   The farmer's market is not-to-be-missed.  

The other day I was picking up breakfast from the deli for my family.  I grabbed a Nestle vanilla milk for my son and waited for my order.  The counter person packed my order, I paid and then I grabbed my bag and the Nestle chocalate milk on the counter and left.  On the way home, I looked down and noticed that I must have grabbed someone else's chocolate milk from the counter as I left in addition to the vanilla milk that I paid for.  Driving past my driveway, I turned around and went back.  At the deli they laughed and said I shoul