One of my many problems is that I always remember my dreams. Remember The Paper Chase movie wherein Professor Kingsfield (pictured) terrorized first year law students?Well, my nightmare is my own terrorized Paper Chase embellishment:  I’m a first year law student and I’m always unprepared and Professor Kingsfield is always calling on me. Then before I can be at a terrorized loss for words or make a fool of myself I wake up shaking in a cold sweat. Sound familiar?  What’s your...

We watch on television as the fires rage on the West Coast. We are safe in front of our screens and observe what is happening so far away. The other day, I was on the phone with an attorney in California and I asked him how he was doing. He described the surreal fire-polluted air and not being able to leave his home. As he spoke, the radio in my home in the background reported that the haze in New York’s air was from the West Coast fires. Step away from your screen. We are al...

  Cheer*lead*er: A noun, -An enthusiastic and vocal supporter of someone or something.   Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be a cheerleader. My mother would ask me at the start of every school year, “what do you want to be when you grow up.” To her dissatisfaction, every year my answer was always the same. I wanted to be a cheerleader. She used to encourage me to “play the sport”, to “be a participant in the sport, not a cheerleader for other players.” In hindsight, I k...

We did not vacation at all this summer. It literally felt like one long, hot summer day. I am not really complaining. If you know me at all, you have heard me talk about how much I enjoy chilling in my back yard. I actually enjoyed my outdoors this summer more than any summer before. That said, I am starting to itch to do something, or at least plan something. Even a day trip. Have you ventured out this summer Gotham? If so, would you share your destination and COVID saf...

During this pandemic we have celebrated a lot of milestone birthdays, 25, 30, 85(my mother-in-law) and soon 60 (my husband). In planning these celebrations and working to make them special during the pandemic a material issue has come up each time, what sort of the birthday cake, cake or ice cream?   For my birthday, although it was not a milestone, it was not even a decision, I love cake. More specifically, I love frosting. I look at cake as a vehicle for delivering the fro...

Two blogs ago I shared taking in a show via the Internet. For the first time in six long months, last night I got to see a band play....LIVE. Yes we wore masks. The band played on a street corner literally. Outside a restaurant where we grabbed dinner.. I later remarked to the drummer -- Curt Arnel, a long-time friend from Hofstra law school that I never recalled a set or even a segue on the radio where Peaceful Easy Feelin’ (Eagles) got sandwiched between What’s Goin’ On (Ma...

I was asked a question last Thursday at a meeting...What's your hidden talent? It was a good question because I believe I really don't hide anything although I did come up with these;   • Barbecueing (I love to grill or smoke anything:) • Woodworking (I hand crafted the mouldings in the addition to my house to match the ones in the orignial 100 year old part) • Driving (I can drive any vehicle of any size) • Carve a turkey (at least Norman thinks so:)   What's yours?...

I admit that I have been a life long sucker (there’s that word) for a bargain.  I am drawn to one like Icarus to the sun. So it’s no surprise that I love CVS!I love the discount certificates that come when I pay.  I love the discounts that come by email and when I click on them go straight to my CVS card. I love that I can find almost anything in the well stocked stores. I love the 2 for 1 sales. And after a “calm down” tutorial from my wife Joanne, I now love the self check ...

I posted this blog six months ago. Little did we know…… Last Sunday, we took a flight back to New York from the happy island of Aruba (that’s the subject of another blog). I had given some thought to the usual concerns associated with flying and getting sick. Flo had a very adequate supply of antibacterial wipes - which were put to good use. I thought I had it under control yet was surprised by my reaction to the face masks on the plane. But it was more than I had expec...

What a difference a year makes. I always loved the start of the school year. Even now, as an adult, in early September I find myself buying new notebooks and pens. The beginning of each school year always felt like the first step of a new adventure with all sorts of surprises in store. Well, part of that is still true. This school year is certainly a new adventure with surprises in store but this time also great trepidation and worry. Many of us have children heading back...

As I write this blog, I am watching my husband prepare and marinade Chilean Sea Bass for our barbecue later this afternoon. My husband has worked on this preparation for years. He has spent a lot of time over the years tweaking the ingredients of the marinade as well as the grilling time. He has perfected both and his Chilean Sea Bass has become a favorite of our family.   Marinated and grilled Chilean Sea Bass has become my husband’s specialty dish. Do you have a specialty ...

Tomorrow often signals to many the end of the summer even though the solstice come a few weeks later. Sitting outside with Shelly before we dined on our deck, she noted how she how Monday would normally mean the end of a summer break many – students and most who work in city schools – enjoy; she also volunteered how that no longer applies to her (Perhaps a topic for a future blog.). With the impact of COVID putting a kibosh on many in-person business gatherings, and other mee...

Here's a real life story I could classify as could only happen in corona time.   Ander Christensen, 27, appeared before the Lincoln City Council governing body at a public meeting and laid out the case for the city's restaurants and stores to stop claiming chicken tenders are "boneless chicken wings."   "We have been casually ignoring a problem that has gotten so out of control that our children are throwing around names and words without even understanding their true meanin...

In these Black Swan times I have a long long ago connection.  When I was a young boy my mother told me that her father died in the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.   I mentioned it to Nancy and, of course, it was news to her and her first impulse was to Google him.  Later she told me she found nothing.   Yet, it was Nancy’s impulse to probe Google that resulted in one of the greatest WOW! moments of my life.   Acting upon Nancy’s Google impulse, I dug extremely deep down into the m...

Our local supermarket follows the guidelines for masks and social distancing. In addition to monitoring the number of people inside, masks, and providing disinfecting wipes when you enter, the supermarket has imposed “one-way” aisles. A good idea from my perspective.It is annoying to me that some people don’t respect the designated direction of the aisles. More than annoying —because of the health reasons for the one-ways and the risk when not observed. I wonder whether ignor...