It started as a small project. My desire was to put together a gift for my son. A sweetly arranged photo album of fond memories of his first 21 years. Of course, I’ve already done his customary baby album, but I stopped at about 7 years old. When would I get the time to actually focus on this project again? Into the basement, I went. I located the bin of arranged photos, separated by age, activity, and school. I slowly unpacked the photos and began the trip down memory lane....

  Our Saturday night activities have actually fallen into a nice routine. It is the only night that we order in. Other than that, we are cooking. (I should say, my kids are cooking. I am eating). I can tell what kind of week it has been based on which day we start talking about where to order for Saturday night's dinner. After we eat, my daughter and I bake. She was recently gifted a terrific gluten free cookbook and we have been baking our way from beginning to end. T...

  As we continue in our efforts to flatten the curve, one idea has stayed in my mind. Long after we have a vaccine for the Covid-19 and we can return to work in some fashion, several habits we are creating now will remain in place. Most notably, I believe that the rise in the number of meetings we hold via video conference will continue. I believe that many types of meetings/conferences that we had previously had in person will continue as video meetings. So, my question is w...

Looking back several weeks I wrote of concert plans. Earlier this week I emailed with my friend Jason about the postponement of an amazing show scheduled for last Thursday at the Kings Theatre; we had plans to see John Fogerty; from Fogerty’s site we knew for a few weeks of the show’s postponement but LiveNation only emailed something formal this week (that remains a whole other discussion and I read that many ticket holders expressed upset how many events continue to hold th...

One of the themes of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” is that there needs to be a balance between man’s pursuit of liberty and the government’s responsibility to maintain order for the common good. The great thing about America is that everyone is allowed to have their opinion. Exchange of opinions is what defines a democracy. Democracy, at its best, is the distillation of the spectrum of opinions and the establishment of a compromise which accommodates that span of ideas. In m...

Back in the day there was a character (pictured) in the Little Abner comic strip who walked around with a perpetual black cloud hanging over his head. His name was Joe Btfsplk.  In sum, he was bad luck and brought it on to others.   I encountered Joe at a young and impressionable age and have carried his dark image through out my life.   To say the least, I did not want to emulate or personify Joe.  Thus, I always found a way to see a bright side or rationalize a result.   In...

I’m being inundated with “advice”. It’s coming in all forms: emails, drop downs, alerts...online, on tv and radio, and by word of mouth from a safe distance. I admit. I cannot process all of this advice. I’m even having trouble sorting out what I may want to follow up on at a later time. Smothered by advice in the time of pandemic....

During times of tragedy, war, famine, and pandemic, the definition of assets change overnight. Country club memberships, social status, sports, and fancy heels, sit in the closet. How can they possibly contribute in times such as this? Underneath all of the intellectual attempts to civilize people and produce impressive technological advancements, we are reminded of our human biology. For millions of years, the basic fundamental connection humans share, is to support and defe...

It’s been about six weeks now. About a week ago, I noticed a trend among my female friends. We have all started talking about the color of our hair. Said better, the true color of our hair. Nearly every conversation with a female friend over the last week or so has involved a tip, trick or point about how to cover those creeping greys. I’ve had sprays, dyes, crayons, powder, and paint recommended – in permanent, semi-permanent and washable forms. I have to admit I’m in...

  In the age of the Coronavirus, my name has become a hashtag. That is, people have been using the hashtag #Rona to post about the virus on social media. I have seen my hashtag on Instagram and on Facebook. I have been told that I am also on Twitter, Snapchat etc. I am all over social media.       Apparently, I am also trending!!!  My hashtag seems to be everywhere. I have always wanted to go viral. Unfortunately, this is not the way I imagined it would happen.       What...

Shut in some but how can I complain when many experience worse things. I spent parts of the last two and this weekend setting up what I call my outside office. Unfortunately, the weather cooperated not at all in terms of making use of it. What remains for this afternoon involves a power washing of the stairs to the yard but the office space stands ready. My simple goal today involves the power washing and leaving the outside office looking ready. I’ll continue listening t...

Battle Lines   The Coronavirus pandemic has been an unprecedented stress on health care delivery. There are more patients, sicker patients, requiring more resources than seems possible. The specter of health care workers becoming infected has introduced an element of fear that most practitioners have never even imagined. As a recently retired anesthesiologist, I have stayed in touch with my colleagues in the New York metropolitan area to get a gauge on their day to day existe...

1) Our Freedom 2) Our Health3) Our Future4) Our Healthcare providers5) Our interactions6) Our Outlook7) Our leaders8) Our jobs9) Our Families10) Our investments11) Our conveniences12) and?...

I am sitting in our living room and gaze across at the dining table which now serves as my office desk. (I’ve never spent so much time at the dining room table as I have during the last few weeks.) I also gaze upon the artwork that surrounds me and some of the studio glass in the room. There’s the Blue Cloud by the glass artist Nancy Callan. It was one of first pieces in our modest collection and one of my favorites. I always marvel at the beauty of the work. Nowadays I st...

A strange, new psychology has emerged. The initial adrenaline of home offices, the novelty of the proverbial gift of “time” at home, wearing yoga pants to the office, has become the norm. We’ve adapted. It took about 40 days. Now, a new existence is born. A deeper, look inward emerges. The search for purpose, connection to our spiritual selves, our own intrinsic internal drivers. Are they the same BC (Before Coronavirus)? Has something new bubbled up for you? A fresh perspe...