The Fix
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsThe owner of our auto body shop (doesn’t everyone with a car have “their” body shop?) has a thoughtful word of advice. “If it can be fixed with money, it’s not really a problem.” Think about it.
Latest posts
Opening Doors
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsIt happened twice last week. Someone waited to let me on the elevator first. “Age before beauty” he said. He was obviously younger. I joked with him in protest. Then, a few days later, a man held a door for me into a building. “Age before beauty” he said. Although younger, I didn’t perceive a great age difference. (Maybe my perception was off.) …
Portions
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsMany years ago, we went out to dinner at a nice restaurant with some friends. Our server came by and asked if we had any questions about the menu. Our friend said, “I’ve heard that the portions here are very small.” “Last time I’m ever going out to dinner with her” I said under my breath. That scene was in my mind the other evening when we were …
Coupons
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsOur neighbors are fanatics about coupons — asking us to make sure that those hallowed sections of the newspapers are not sent to recycling without their review. I was somewhat skeptical about coupons until a few years ago when certain prescription medicines became over the counter and I noticed considerable savings being offered by certain drug man …
Guarding the Spot
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsShe was standing in the empty parking spot in Lenox, Massachusetts. I signaled that I was pulling in and she waved me off. My gesture of “Are you kidding?” was ignored. I parked around the corner. Saving a spot. The kind of behavior that might be expected in New York City. Might also get you killed. Unexpected in a small town in the Berkshire f …
A Story
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsI met her at my Mother’s. Like my Mother, she is a Holocaust survivor. Hers was a different journey… a different story. She was born in Germany in 1934. As a young child, she escaped to France and was moved to a children’s detention facility in Marseilles. Incredibly, her Mother found her in Marseilles. A ship was leaving for the United States. Mot …
TV State of Mind
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsWe were having coffee at a little cafe. Small space. Couldn’t help but hear the conversation at the next table. One of the people was sharing a little issue she was having. Frustrated by her inability to find a solution. One of her friends offered the following: Your mind is like a TV. If you don’t like what your seeing, grab the remote and chan …
T Shirts
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsI have a plethora of T shirts emblazoned with names, messages and logos. Carefully chosen, assembled, maintained and stored over too many years. The messages they carry - some significant only for a moment - while others endure. Funny that one remembers every acquisition. Recently I’ve considered moving to plain t shirts. Then, over the …
Wednesday the Fourth
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsIndependence Day is one of those few holidays that will always be celebrated on the precise day of its origin —— July 4th. No changes to Monday for the convenience of a long weekend. Most years, however, Independence Day provides a long holiday weekend — either three or four days — to begin Summer. But, by my unscientific calculations, every six …
Worthy Words
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsWe had the pleasure of seeing Audra McDonald in concert at Tanglewood with the Boston Pops. Great venue. Great concert. When I listen to music that touches me, I usually come away with a lyric that stays. Mostly because the message is pertinent and special,although sometimes it is just an “ear worm”. Since last Sunday, the lyrics of Jule Styne, Be …
Testimony
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsI hadn’t given it much thought in many years, perhaps once or twice in passing since my father died almost twenty years ago. In the mid-1960s, my father went to Germany to testify at a war crimes trial against former guards in the Plaszow concentration camp. When he returned, he didn’t say much. However, he did tell me that the map of the ghett …
The Corner Bakery
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsThere’s a “Corner Bakery” on the corner of North Capital and E Street in Washington, D.C. On most mornings, a homeless gentleman stands on the corner and wishes a “Good Morning” to passersby. I saw him last Saturday and Sunday. As I left the bakery with my coffees on Sunday morning, I gave the gentleman a dollar as I wished him a good day. As I wal …
The Test
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsLike my fellow Gothamite Al D’Elia (and I’m sure there are others) I went to Brooklyn Technical High School, one of the specialized high schools in New York City. Now there’s talk of eliminating the test for entry to these schools. Bills are being introduced in Albany - I’ve gotten several emails from the Alumni Association to “Save the Test”. Fro …
Home Delivery
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsHome delivery of newspapers is not a concept of the past in our home. We still get home delivery of three newspapers. I have often thought about this as unnecessary and recently spoke to my brother-in-law about it. He also gets three newspapers - a local paper, the Times and the WSJ. Perhaps it’s an effort to get balance, perhaps just holding on t …
Apology Accepted?
Posted By : Benjamin GeizhalsI am following up on last week’s blog; the apology is made, but is it accepted? The ball, as they say, is in the court of the person to whom the apology is made. (My legal training compels me to label this person the “apologee”.) It seems to me that the first threshold for the apologee is a judgment of whether the apology is sincere - and, therefor …
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