(Saturday’s blogger’s commentary yesterday in part inspired this musing about the aftermath of the recent snowfall.) Friday’s blogger texted me yesterday to call; I called his cell.  His talented artist wife picked up and explained he was shoveling his driveway.  When he called back, I admonished him for the exertion; I related the story of Grandpa Sol’s brother Julie and his ill-fated attempt to dig out his cab (Think something like the pic above left.) after a 1960s storm....

The joys of winter! It's beautiful...everything coated in white, brisk mornings where you can see your breath, the crunch of snow under your feet and sitting in front of a nice warm, cozy fire.   And of course...battling with the snow thrower, slipping and banging your head, shoveling really heavy snow and dealing with drivers that should not be on the road.   Ralph Waldo Emerson sums it up for me... "The hard soil and four months of snow make the inhabitants of the northern...

Following up on Ben's blog of yesterday, we thoroughly enjoyed our annual Holiday Party Wednesday night and, as is tradition, the weather was daunting, ie, it snowed and snowed and snowed. So much so that it amounted to another silver lining in that the pandemic prevented a traditional in person festival and required that we party conveniently on Zoom. Party highlights were Alison Crowther, mother of Welles Remy Crowther, who ascended to immortality on 9/11/2001 by saving 18 ...

I had intended to blog about Zoom. Little did I know that Gotham’s Holiday Gala last night would provide me with not only the material but, more significantly, the inspiration for the blog. The Gala was, quite simply, amazing. Thank you to Norm for choreographing the Gala and being a Master of Ceremonies without equal — navigating the technical challenge without a hitch.Congratulations to our networkers of the year, Dan and Brad, and to Lourdes who received the coveted Red B...

  I know it isn’t time just yet. I know that COVID will keep us close to home for a while. But at some point, we will settle into a more regular rhythm. The world will open up again and we will be able to travel. In my house, we have been talking about a trip to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary just over one year away. What do you think? Will we be able to celebrate somewhere other than here? And now I invite you to play along. It feels good to be thinking about t...

With the approval of the Pfizer vaccine I, as I believe many others are doing, are contemplating a return to our “normal” professional lives. But what does a return to “normal” look like? For me, there have been certain changes that occurred during the pandemic-which significantly changed the manner in which I operate- that I believe will remain in place.       First, prior to the pandemic court filings in divorce case were the only filings that were still done by hand, in ...

This blog concerns some “wonders” of Gotham. I planned another topic. I committed myself to another topic. Somehow Friday’s blogger On Dec 11, 2020, at 4:39 PM, Fred Klein wrote: Great blog subject convinced me to share this account.  Sometime around 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon, as I am leaving my car, I hear WFAN Craig Carton telling Evan Roberts to stop by a Philly Pretzel Factory store Saturday after a “Drive-By giveaway for New York Mets Season Ticket holders at Citifield....

Yesterday was my birthday. In this day and age, part of anybody's birthday is receiving digital wishes. Facebook, LinkedIn, text and email. I think I answered them all...although I'm not 100% sure :)   The highlight of the day (which was rather quiet) was having my son over for dinner. It's his birthday on the 15th so we celebrate us. Then my daughter and second son streamed in through Facebook's Portal which is hooked up to the TV so they were life size. It was great having ...

Sometimes I remember my nocturnal dreams and the other night I remembered a sweet dream. It was about my dearly departed college roommate. I was somewhere with someone and he entered the room and I was SO happy to see him! Such good feelings welled up inside me! I told him I thought he was dead and before he could answer the dream ended.  I can only hope that some night he will return to continue our happy reunion. In these challenging times such an apparition was most welcom...

I become obsessed when something is lost. The reason for my obsession is the realization that things that are lost do not actually disappear. The mystery is that they exist somewhere but are not found. The challenge is to find what is lost. The challenge is my obsession. The earring slid off Flo’s ear while she was sitting in the front seat of the car and we were certain that, wherever it fell, it was in the car. It was dark and we searched with the light of my cellphone. No...

  I remember the first time I rode the subway next to a woman without pants. That’s right, without pants. As I climbed the stairs to the E Train at Penn Station, I noticed a woman ahead of me wearing a winter coat, hat, fuzzy gloves and boots – but no pants. Odd, I thought to myself, but hey, this is New York. I kept walking. A little way up the platform I came across another woman similarly un-clad. Again, I thought – super odd. But I boarded the train next to her. The wh...

The blog Corey posted yesterday inspired me. Corey wrote, “In these pandemic plagued times where most in person holiday gatherings shrink to households and some enlarge by virtual means, why not add some music to help brighten our moods.” I wanted to take Corey’s topic and go in a different direction. In these pandemic times, when we are constantly being told that the worse is yet to come, how do you find your joy? What thoughts, other than the music that Corey provides fo...

In these pandemic plagued times where most in person holiday gatherings shrink to households and some enlarge by virtual means, why not add some music to help brighten our moods.   This year’s version of Happy Holidays in Song now features 103 songs, albeit one video required a search for a replacement by the same artist (ask off list please but I coincidentally will share same artist needed an update for the new year playlist).   Last year’s blog listed 100 but I defer to ...

A couple of weeks ago, I was participating in a weekly Zoom. There were eight people who shared the same feeling about what is going on in the world and one did not.   The person that did not share the same feeling started to express his point of view using analogies. Within minutes he was viified and although we did move on, he subsequently dropped out of the group.   I was silent during the exchange yet I believe I share responsibility in the meeting going south. It seems ...

Hopefully everyone in the Tribe is familiar with our Season of Giving initiative. In case you’re not, it is a year long drive to fund Gotham Foundation grants which we will be announcing on December 16 at our virtual/Zoom Holiday Party. The number of grants and the amounts thereof have not yet been determined, but it is clear that the amount dispensed will be greater than last year. This is as a consequence of the generosity of those members who chose to donate their meal cos...