I heard that the weather was abnormally cool in New York for the Memorial Day weekend. We were in Prague and the weather was about the same --- the coldest weather that they have had at this time of year in fifty years. And it rained. It was fitting weather for our visit to Terezin -- the site of a ghetto and concentration camp near Prague during …
By the time this blog is posted and being read, we will, hopefully, be safe and sound in Prague. We are flying Lufthansa, the German airline. For many years as I grew up, Germany -- and it’s products -- were persona non grata for my family and generally prohibited. As a child, I learned to be sensitive to a product’s country of origin, and “Made …
I have had an occasional interest, but no great and burning desire, to visit Poland to see the cities where my parents lived before the war. I am not sure why. Perhaps the images in my mind from the stories I have been told and pictures that I have seen is sufficient. Perhaps I realize that with the exception of the re-enactment in the movie " …
The weather in Seattle last weekend was spectacular. Cloudless skies. Very un-Seattle-like, especially for early May. Beautiful, memorable sunrises over Mount Rainier were the prominent news stories. So Flo and I decided to view what was being touted as the opportunity of a lifetime. Tuesday was our last morning in Seattle and we were up at …
My daughter, Mea, is getting married on Saturday. The wedding is in Seattle and the weather forecast, at last check, doesn't include rain. A good omen. It's a good thing that the wedding is in Seattle, because I'm going to need a nice long plane flight to think about what to tell my daughter and new son-in-law. What words of advice (dare I say "wis …
David Ortiz, a star of the Boston Red Sox, gave an impassioned speech to the 35,000 plus fans at Fenway Park last Saturday. It was before the first game in front of the home-town Boston crowd after the bombings and lock-down of the city during the final day of the manhunt. For the sake of completeness, here's what he said (as reported by the …
Along with many other Americans, I watched the news the other night as a relative talked about one of the victims of the bombing at the Boston Marathon. Everything that can be said about the personal tragedy has been said by those more eloquent than I. As I watched the woman speak, I noticed the Boston Red Sox cap on …
Last Sunday, I attended the annual commemoration of the Holocaust at Temple Emanu-el in New York City. It made me sad -- indeed sadder than I can remember ever being after attending the somber event in the past few years. At one point during the commemoration, as they have done every year, there is a candle lighting during which thirty-six cand …
There is a “No Right Turn on Red” sign in my neighborhood that is, to say the least, annoying. There seems to be no justification for the prohibition on right turns on red at that spot. And, it is a long light. Oftentimes, I witness drivers stopping at the red light, looking around -- for cars and police -- and making the prohibited turn. Some …
Between Passover and Easter - a time to reflect on tradition and family. This year was the first year that our generation was the oldest generation at my brother and sister-in-law's seder table. But we were lucky to still have three generations around the table. I remember my son on my father's knee. Now it is my knee. The tradition goes on.
Today is the beginning of the NCAA basketball tournament -- otherwise often referred to as “March Madness”. I didn't fill out my brackets and selections for the office pool. I participate in two office pools: one is a lottery pool and the other is the Superbowl pool. Both of these pools are completely random -- a function of luck and chance. Un …
I have met "The Professor" several times, mostly through mutual friends. She taught at a major University in New York City. She was, by all accounts, a very popular and beloved teacher. I learned recently that The Professor was no longer teaching. I doubt that there was "cause" for her leaving -- certainly her departure was not the result of a …
Every so often a tragedy strikes that, while not impacting us directly, does. Such was the tragedy that struck a young family early last Sunday morning as they were being driven to the hospital for the birth of their first child and were hit by another car and killed. The baby was delivered but died the next day. By any account, it is, indeed, …
We have two "land-line" phones in our house. Originally, they were both through Verizon, a traditional telephone provider that traces itself to the break-up of the old AT&T. Years ago, we changed one of the lines to our cable provider and bundled it with Internet and cable TV. But we kept the traditional Verizon line. It was a good thing. D …
The Cinema Arts Centre, an independent film venue in Huntington, is one of our favorite places. When we were there over the weekend, I noticed a fascinating commonality among the three movies that were being shown. They all had to do with old age. "Quartet" is a glimpse into the lives of four former stars of the opera who live in a retirement home …
