We were on the ferry from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island, Washington, and Flo struck up a conversation with the man on the motorcycle next to our car. "Do you know that you're going to the longest island in the United States?" Considering that I come from Long Island, that Long Island is about 110 miles long and that Whidbey Island is about 58 miles lo …
Summertime is a time for travel. Traveling involves packing. Some thoughts on packing: Accept and embrace the fact that packing is a necessary part of traveling. Accept that some ‘packs’ are easier than others. Packing doesn't mean you have to re-assess your entire wardrobe. Yes, weather is oftentimes a consideration but being unprepared for unexpe …
The games of summer. "Connect Four", "Air Hockey" and "Skee Ball". Remember them? Recently, "Connect Four" re-entered our lives. We have the travel-size and it's perfect on our trips. Flo likes to pack it when we travel and challenges me to a game or two, which becomes the "best of five" or "best of seven". There's a game room in the Marriott in G …
Anyone who vacations on Martha's Vineyard when the President is there has a story to tell. Here's mine. Last Sunday, we were walking down Main Street in Edgartown and I saw a black shoulder bag on a bench in front of the liquor store. I poked my head inside the store to let the clerk know about the bag. He told me that he knew about it, but didn't …
As a kid, I grew up believing that, if you were a Mets fan, you really couldn't like (let alone be friends with) a Yankees fan. It was wonderful being with many, many fellow Gothamites at Citifield the other evening watching the Mets and the Yankees play. I put aside that I was sitting among Yankee fans -- arch enemies of a different era. I don't …
Last Sunday afternoon, we were sitting in the shed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts listening to the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform Beethoven's Sixth Symphony - "Pastoral Symphony, Recollections of Country Life". I don't remember ever enjoying a piece of classical music as much. Transformed, I thought back to the first time I visited Tangl …
I was taking out the garbage the other morning and a bird fell to the ground in front of me. Although alive - I could see its little chest rise and fall - it wasn't moving. My first instinct was to try to do something but I've been taught that, in situations such as this, it is best to let nature take its course. But I watched. After a few mi …
About seven weeks ago, on June 3rd, I saw this quote in the Wall Street Journal. "No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one." (Elbert Hubbard) Approaching the half-way point of this summer, the quote haunts me. I am hearing more complaints about "trying to get away" and "paying for those few days away". I am looking forward t …
We were at a craft fair last weekend in the Berkshires. It was held at a ski slope, with most vendors setup in tents outside. There were also two lodges - one at the top of the mountain and one at the base - and some of the vendors were in the indoor lodges. There was more foot traffic outside and, unless you realized that there were vendors in t …
There’s a first for everything. When I voted in the congressional primary on Tuesday morning, I was the first ballot in my electoral district. At least the volunteers at the polling place had not been waiting in vain. I made their day. But it really wasn't good. I arrived at around 9:00 a.m. And the polls had been open for three hours. It was c …
I was driving home and was cut off by an SUV driver who decided not to make the left turn she was signaling from the left-turn lane and cut back into traffic. I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting her, sending things in the car that weren’t bolted down flying. I blasted my horn – realizing as I did that it wouldn’t make a difference. A moment lat …
Renovations of the bathrooms in our offices were recently completed. In addition to the clean new look, I noticed the new high powered hand dryer and the new paper towel dispenser which dispensed smaller sheets than I remembered. I began to take notice and observed many more high powered hand dryers in public restrooms. Some were side-by-side pap …
Overheard at a bar in the west 40s...,Man: "You look great!"Woman: "Yea. I lost weight."Man: "I didn't know you needed to."Woman: "I didn't."Man: inquiring glance....Woman: "Stress."At the Spring Cocktail Party the other night, the common theme with people I spoke to was "stress".So, what's going on?
The clouds were threatening and were moving towards us last Sunday afternoon. We stopped at a wine and cheese store in Stockbridge as the drizzle turned to a downpour. Wet, but safely inside as the skies opened. The rain was torrential. The report later was 3 inches in less than an hour. Roads flooded. The roof of the store sprung a leak and we h …
This has to be one of the most bizarre and resourceful happenings ever witnessed. We were at the Gala and Auction for UrbanGlass -- a wonderful facility in Brooklyn and worth a visit for anyone interested in glass. During the cocktail hour, pieces that were being auctioned were on display in UrbanGlass’s gallery. As we enjoyed drinks and hors d’oeu …
