Two weeks ago I posted my "No Thanks Given" blog (listing my reaction to irksome conduct of others) on the day after Thanksgiving and received a healthy 19 comments.

The comment which motivates and foretold this blog came from Dinner Group member Ted Lanzaro who wrote: All of these are "princess problems".  Being truly grateful means being thankful for the good things in life despite petty nuisances.

Today, probably in your neighborhood:

Someone is terminally ill
Someone has lost a child
Someone has lost a parent
Someone has lost their house for financial reasons and a host of other problems."

Ted, no sycophant he,  ended with "Your post makes you sound more like a Kardashian sister than a leader."

I replied on the blog to this barb as follows: Thank you for the Constructive criticism. I agree. FYI, my wife did not want me to post the blog, but I am very ordinary and if I did not post it I would not have heard from you. Thanks again."

Little did we know that on the same morning of our exchange that good friends were discovering their 32-year-old son had passed away peacefully in his sleep after spending Thanksgiving with his family.

As Ted said "someone has lost a child".  I knew that child and he was briefly a member of Gotham's young pros and mentored by Linda Queenie Newman.

I was asked to eulogize this fine young man and, of course, Ted's comments came back to me. The final eulogy was given by his mother who poignantly said a mother should never have to eulogize her son.

Thanks again Ted for your words which we should all heed!