I carry a Personal Pocket Journal. It’s a small (pocket size) leather bound calendar — displaying months and weeks-at-glance. It is made by Graphic Image in Melville and available in several colors. My choice is tan.My desk drawer is full of past year’s journals. I’m not sure why I keep them for so long.As I contemplate a new journal for the upcoming year, I face a dilemma. I’ve come to realize that most of the journal entries are also on my phone’s calendar. I laugh to myself that this is my “double-entry calendar system”. But is it necessary?

I have always been the one who arrives 10 minutes early, but better early than late! Now that I am at the mercy of the MTA, I leave early enough to account for “unexpected” delays and detours. I often find myself 15-20 minutes ahead of schedule and it's still OK; I know I am not going to change - I still prefer being early to the stress of being late.

As many of you know, my mom passed a few days ago after a long illness and valiant fight.  Mom was feisty, generous, adventurous and kind – and it was my job to prepare a eulogy that honored her life and shared her essence.  It was hard, with lots of self-imposed pressure to get it right.  But the “teaching moment” for me was more about the process of preparing my thoughts. 

Is it just me or is there pressure to answer text messages immediately? I have a friend who will send me a text message and, if I do not answer within minutes, she will follow up with a “Hello?” Many people feel stressed by the pressure to answer text messages the moment they come in, as if every ping demands instant attention. This constant expectation can make even simple conversations feel overwhelming. 

Each Thanksgiving I check to see when I blogged the prior year about music for the holiday season.  That we often begin to hear that music when families gather the last Thursday in November is what brings my Holiday Music Playlist to mind.  The only thing that delays that blog is the need to timely report  this year’s Gotham Green Award® winners announced annually the Tues

This true story proves that all animals need to let loose...The staff at a Virginia liquor store showed up after Thanksgiving to discover a raccoon had broken in and gone straight for the scotch. The “masked bandit” apparently fell through a ceiling tile, raided the bottom shelf, and then passed out in the bathroom between the toilet and the trash can like a true rookie drinker.Animal control hauled the tiny criminal off for “questioning” once it sobered up, found no injuries—unless you count the hangover—and released it back into the wild to rethink its life choices.

I was once a runner.  As such, I logged over 25,000 miles (more than around the World) and am proud to boast that I qualified to run in the fabled Boston Marathon at the age of 40 with a time of 3:09:34 ( just under the 3:10 qualifying standard).  They were miles of trials and trials of miles. Unforgettable were my 20 mile runs into New York City on Northern Boulevard, Malley's Marauders 24 Hour Relays and 30 mile runs to the end of Centre Island with Ben Geizhals and other running buddies.  In sum, I completed 33 (26.2 miles) marathons.  

There’s a beautiful ancient begonia in the sitting room at the Outermost Inn in Aquinnah on Martha’s Vineyard. I first admired it over twenty-five years ago and have said hello to it almost every year since.About fifteen years ago, I was given a cutting that grew into a beautiful plant in my office. Unfortunately, it didn’t survive the loneliness of the Covid shutdown.