Except, perhaps, for walking and chewing, you really can't do two things at the same time. I was at a conference on health care. Two days of presentations. Lawyers sitting behind long rows of narrow tables. Several laptops and many, many smartphones resting on the tablecloths that covered the tables. My phone found its way to the space in front of …
We live in a condo development. PSE&G just completed a several-week project - replacing power lines. There was lots of equipment around - trucks, cranes,front loaders and a "CallAHead" for the convenience of the crew. The condo is also doing a renovation of our clubhouse. One day, I noticed a second "CallAHead" sitting next to the first. It tu …
The sage advice "Don't believe everything you hear" and "Don't believe everything you read" have taken on ever-increasing meaning. Websites simply make things up and are then quoted, referenced and relied upon. A modern-day version of the parlor game of "telephone" in which the falsehoods are repeated and laundered to become "truth". And the human …
After what has been a most unusual year leading up to the election, we sit down with family and friends to enjoy the ultimate American tradition. In sharing the day with others, enjoy the food, be thankful, be optimistic, watch football (instead of CNN), and don't talk politics. Happy Thanksgiving.
Here's how it was related to me: Flo was having a manicure a few days after the election. Her conversation with Maggie, her manicurist, was disrupted by the loud one-sided cell phone conversation of another patron. (Yes, the salon requests that cellphones not be used.) Flo and Maggie were discussing the results of the election. Since Maggie lives …
Heal first. Analyze later. More next week.
There's an old Yiddish adage - "Man plans and God laughs" (it sounds better in Yiddish). How often we are reminded of it. So it was last weekend. We were all set for a long-planned trip to Boston to visit family and attend a charity event. The phone rang on Sunday morning at 4. "Want to come to Brooklyn to babysit for your grandson?""We're going to …
We were at the local Deli and decided to share a hot dog. I reached for the plate and a knife. "I'll cut and you choose." The words (and concept) came straight from my childhood -- an eminently fair way of dividing and sharing with others. The resolution and avoidance of possible conflict. I pondered the similarities between "I'll cut and you ch …
We just installed a new phone system in our office. Even as I attended the orientation session to learn how to use the new phone, I accepted the fact that I would probably never utilize all of its features nor realize all of its potential. I would incorporate what worked for me and settle in to a nice cooperative relationship with my new phone. Th …
I was at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Boston with the Metropolitan Contemporary Glass Group. Since I am secretary of the group, I was scribbling notes when a museum guard came up to me and asked if I was writing with a pen. She didn't confiscate the pen, but advised me that my using it was prohibited and gave me a little pencil. I was fine wit …
Its been almost almost a year since the house that Flo grew up in was sold. It was sold to the caretaker who cared for Flo's mother during the last years of her struggle with Alzheimer's. They loved the house and selling it to them was one way to keep it in the family. We were in the neighborhood the other day and stopped by to see the house. The …
"Be prepared!" Wasn't that one of the basic tenets of the Boy Scouts? What surprised me most about Monday night's debate was the lack of preparation by one candidates. As I was watching, I wondered whether the debate would be used as an example of the importance of preparation.
Between now and November 8th, I am going to learn more about polls than I may ever want to know. Every day there's a new poll and every new poll is accompanied by an analysis of the techniques utilized by the poll. Then some commentator will delve into the bias of the poll. Gone are the simple days of "here are the results and there's a error facto …
Recently, I was again reminded of the vagaries of life. Those chance occurrences that could make all the difference.We were driving to Washington, D.C. and were about 30 minutes away on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway when traffic suddenly came to a complete stop. Within minutes, at least 10 emergency vehicles passed us. The traffic app told us th …
Every four years, Labor Day marks the 'beginning' of the presidential election campaign. And every four years, two types of people emerge -- those addicted to the election news and those who purposely avoid the election news. Okay, I admit it. I'm addicted. I have become an election news junkie. I not only watch CNN whenever I can, I listen to CNN …
