A high school friend who is a reader of my Friday With Fred blog sent me the following email last weekend:You always do great “starters” and I thought if you had remembrances of yours [First Friend] it might qualify for a prompt for your followers.  I began thinking about my happy childhood and those who contributed to memories that made it “fond”, when I first began,unknowingly, to feel warmth towards those outside of my immediately family. Looking back those memories remain...

How do you get to work? I’m thinking about this as I ride the Long Island Railroad for a day of meetings in the City. Over the years I have “commuted” for untold hours in almost every imaginable mode of transportation. I have read, sometimes with amazement, sometimes with admiration, about commuters who retire and celebrate forty years of continuous commuting on the LIRR. For me, it’s been a varied feast. Largely dictated by where I’ve lived and where I’ve worked, I’v...

The title of my blog is incorrect because I have found my favorite French fry and believe me, I’ve searched. I’m partial to a good French fry and in the end, it’s all about fast food. Yes, I know fast food is the devil and responsible for all bad health things anyone could imagine. But let’s just put that aside for one moment. How many of you out there will agree with me that McDonald’s wins this award? To me, there is no comparison. Burger King, Wendy’s, even Nathan’s can...

  I’m writing this blog on Sunday. The weather prediction for today is 97 degrees with a heat index much higher. I just made myself a large cup of iced coffee, my favorite drink in the heat.     My plan for the rest of the day is to spend the day in my backyard in my pool. My family will tell you that it must be really hot outside if I am in the pool, as opposed to sitting outside the pool on a lounge chair.     How did you handle the recent heat wave? ...

Do you bother “unsubscribe” from “junk” and other unsolicited “emails?   I generally just hit delete. I found it quick enough as I processed emails.   More recently, I moved such “offenders” to my junk folder first.   On a spare after hours moment(s), I take to going through the emails, determining which of my emails the solicitation was directed to and clicked unsubscribe. Often the response is to wait some ten days for it to occur. I may do a follow-up to report on this “pr...

It's become a household name for ride hailing services even though there are several now.  I find that using them is convenient and fascinating. Some have snacks and drinks for their "guests" while others entertain with music and sparkling conversation.     One, from Alaska, has made a name for himself by offering a "ride menu."   Brilliant :)   I think he should add the "Sports Car Ride." Where you strap in and he drives as fast as he possibly can regardless of the speed lim...

I have never been a good dancer.  I just don’t get it and as a consequence have not danced in years. My wife Joanne, however, is the Natural on the dance floor. Last Saturday we went to a party and the music was from our era and she asked me to dance and I surprised myself with my willingness. Well, surprise surprise, I was out there moving just about on the beat and enjoying it. Was I missing something all these years?...

As I do every morning, I opened the doors and looked out at the deck as the early sunshine foretold a very pleasant summer day. I gazed across and admired the large potted tomato plants which were progressing nicely for early July with buds abound and several tomatoes in the making. Then I saw it. There was a bee moving from flower to flower on the tomato plants. I haven’t seen as many bees over the past few years as I remember. I’ve always appreciated the work of bee...

The puppy’s name is: Redford, the Lil Red Dog, also known as “Red”. Fondly remembering, Clifford, the Big red dog Naming rights belong to my dear friend, Josh Zinder. Josh reminded me of my chain gang of animals. SLIM the rescue, my son’s cat SKIM and now “RED” the lil red dog. What sealed the deal? Funniest thing happened, when I took “red” to the vet Monday, I heard the vet tech say...”put the REDHEADS in room 2”. I realized they were talking about ME and my PUPPY! #redhea...

  Last weekend we ventured for the first time this season to our local town beach. We are Town of Oyster Bay residents on Long Island and so ToBay is our beach choice when we feel the need to touch the ocean. And, we’re Long Islanders so that’s half the lure to being here. We hadn’t been to ToBay since last summer. Usually it’s a pretty long walk from the parking lot down to the beach. Admittedly, I’m usually complaining along the way. First there is a long walk through ...

Anyone who knows me, or have read my blogs, knows I enjoy shopping for clothing, pocketbooks, handbags etc. I know that sometimes, professionally, I will use my clothes to make a statement. For instance, during a recent four-day long hearing, I purposely wore very professionally looking, dark suits. To me, my choice of dress made a statement to the Judge and opposing counsel that I was in that courtroom as a professional ready to work and do battle.   A few days ago, I read ...

I found myself perusing my calendar. Many a friend shared how they feel Summer’s Almost Gone.   Of course the preceding phrase made me think of a song from the Doors iconic third LP, Waiting for the Sun. We only are in the second weekend of July. All of August remains and two full weekends and more of the current month.   I recall as a youth that summer seemed a long time; not that I welcomed its end.   I like summer unstructured; never really liked day camp.   For me a big...

I live in Sea Cliff...a tiny hamlet that's 1 square mile containing 5,000 residents. To the north is Glen Cove and Locust Valley. To the east Brookville. We all have three routes to get off this peninsula with Glen Cove Road being the main artery, At present, traversing Northern Blvd is like crossing a chasm.   A developer is in the process of finishing a large set of buildings that will have over 1,000 residential units. And I'm sure each will need two parking spaces. Now w...

I live on the North Shore of Long Island and when I sit in my back yard I notice the never ending, clockwork pattern of big jets passing high above, somewhat to the South in an East/West pattern. I imagine they are coming from Europe and guess they are on the way to JFK.I have actually timed them and the intervals are around a minute and a half.  It gets monotonous to the point that it is actually less noticeable.  However, I can only imagine how it is on the South Shore near...

We’ve eaten at several “No Tipping” establishments over the past few months, most recently at two bars with lite food fare in the City. I didn’t notice a significant increase in the prices of the food or drink, which was a bit of a surprise. The service was fine and the staff was friendly. There was, perhaps, a sense of relief from the burden of “earning” a tip….or, perhaps, I was projecting my feelings. When the check came, I had to remind myself of the “No Tipping” ...