I very distinctly remember where I was on 9/11. I was on my way into the city merrily sleeping through my everyday ordinary commute on what was not an ordinary day. From the moment I arrived at Penn Station, I knew something had gone terribly wrong. But it took me some time to piece it together. People were talking but there was no real information. I remember taking the bus across town (the subway had been shut down). I was anxious for information and so I didn't finish the ...

We were at the airport and I was waiting for Flo. Nearby on both sides of me were two couples —clearly each a husband and wife. And both were caught up in an argument. I moved away from one only to find the other engaged in almost identical banter. The toxicity was painful – beyond uncomfortable. I could feel it permeating my skin and had to get away. I walked away — far enough away that when Flo returned to where she had left me, I was not to be found and had to call out...

Giving-- According to Charity Navigator (THE charity assessment organization): Total giving to charitable organizations was $410.02 billion in 2017 (2.1% of GDP). Giving has increased in current dollars every year since 1977, with the exception of three years that saw declines: 1987, 2008 and 2009. As in previous years, the majority of that giving came from individuals. Specifically, individuals gave $286.65 billion, accounting for 70% of all giving and representing a 3.0% in...

Giving-- According to Charity Navigator (THE charity assessment organization): Total giving to charitable organizations was $410.02 billion in 2017 (2.1% of GDP). Giving has increased in current dollars every year since 1977, with the exception of three years that saw declines: 1987, 2008 and 2009. As in previous years, the majority of that giving came from individuals. Specifically, individuals gave $286.65 billion, accounting for 70% of all giving and representing a 3.0% in...

  Anyone else feeling like December is just going way too fast this year?   I’ve been planning January for the last two weeks. Usually I don’t get there until just right about now.     I’m not sure what I think about this holiday speed. I love the holiday season. It is chock full of celebrations and good feelings. I prefer for it to linger for a while but 2018 does not seem to be cooperating.     Anyone have a trick for slowing down December?     I’m all ears. ...

  Anyone else feeling like December is just going way too fast this year?   I’ve been planning January for the last two weeks. Usually I don’t get there until just right about now.   I’m not sure what I think about this holiday speed. I love the holiday season. It is chock full of celebrations and good feelings. I prefer for it to linger for a while but 2018 does not seem to be cooperating.   Anyone have a trick for slowing down December?   I’m all ears. ...

  I was playing around on Instagram as I was procrastinating writing this blog. As I’ve written before I’m a fan of several of The Real Housewives franchises. And, so, I follow Andy Cohen-the creator of The Real Housewives-on Instagram. His Instagram story today resonated with me and, I thought, was especially relevant to Gotham.   The theme of Andy’s Instagram story was that we should all remember that every friend was once a stranger. In thinking about that I began to thi...

Interesting how time intersects.  So in last week’s blog, I released an updated Happy Holidays in song playist, which included a few extra Chanukah songs.  Some people provided links to some songs you’ll find next year (though I did informally add them pending placement within the flow of the existing list.).  In the week that followed last year’s blog releasing that year’s updated playlist, we attended a family Chanukah gathering hosted by my brother; I blogged about the mus...

Saturday fun :-)   A group of adults were taking a computer science course at a local college. The professor wanted to have fun one day and divided the group by sex. Males on one side, females on the other. Then he told them to determine what gender the computer should be.   The men voted unanimously that the computer should be referred to in the feminine gender and the reasons to support that were: No one but their creator understands their internal logic When computers spe...

Did you ever wake up in the middle of the night with a start and realize that you forgot to do something important? Well, in the early morning hours of last Saturday I had such an experience as I realized that Gotham had forgotten to make plaques for this year’s worthy networkers of the year Laurel Scarr-Konel and Brett Deutsch.What to do? It quickly came to me that Fred Morante, Chairman of our vibrant Queens Group which had the highest percentage of members in attendance at...

Eating jelly donuts is one of the customs that makes Hanukah what it is. My friend related the following story. Bob was seeing some people for the lighting of the first candle. He thought it would be nice to bring donuts. He called and ordered two dozen from the bakery and would pick them up on the way. With a credit card, it was done. A few hours later, he picked up the donuts. Two boxes were waiting with the charge slip attached. The charge was extravagantly-more than he...

Another woman who deserves more attention than she has thusfar received. From the NY Times: Amrita Sher-Gil, a pioneer of modern Indian art, used her paintbrush to depict the daily lives of Indian women in the 1930s, often revealing a sense of their loneliness and even hopelessness. She painted women going to the market, women at a wedding, women at home. Sometimes she showed women bonding with other women. At times the worksseemed to convey a sense of silent resolve. It w...

  There are very few things that get me more riled up than wasting someone’s time, including my own.     Have you had the experience yet of going down to your DMV to get a new Enhanced Drivers License? Well, if not, I suggest some deep breathings exercise, a little meditation, or perhaps a bottle of wine before you go.     I did not have any of those things, but I did have my research skills. Those are well honed after all of these years practicing law.     So, I resear...

My husband and I did not watch Game of Thrones when it began airing. For years my daughter has been telling my husband and I that we were really missing out, that we would love it. After my other daughter got married her husband joined in, also telling us that we would love it.   As the years went by, we were tempted to start watching it, but the time commitment seemed overwhelming. During Thanksgiving, however, my nephew and brother-in-law joined the chorus, telling us it w...

One starts this eve, another in just a few days after three weeks pass; others also this month too (Mitch covered it some yesterday. And so to light up the days ahead and ring in the season I release an updated version (all links work at time of posting) of Happy Holidays in song   Happy Christmas – John Lennon   This Is Christmas – Luther Vandross   The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) – Nat King Cole (music and lyrics by Mel Tormé and Bob Wells)   The Ch...