Hopefully everyone in the Tribe is familiar with our Season of Giving initiative. In case you’re not, it is a year long drive to fund Gotham Foundation grants which we will be announcing on December 16 at our virtual/Zoom Holiday Party. The number of grants and the amounts thereof have not yet been determined, but it is clear that the amount dispen …
I know it’s been the toughest of years, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot to be thankful for. Words like Silver Lining (in every cloud), glass half full and Bright Side come to mind as we fend and cope. I know that I am very lucky and have a lot to be thankful for. What about you?
We are all subject to self doubt, momentary or otherwise. Unfortunately, it is a common human condition. Some let it bring them down needlessly. While others learn to cope with, work through or around it. One of the benefits of life experience is that we learn, through trial and error, that, 9 times out of 10, feelings of self doubt, anxiety or fea …
Saturday was surely one extraordinary day to remember for all time. What with the unseasonably warm weather and the ever building tension to declare a victor in the hotly contested presidential election race, we were poised for it. When the news came at around 11:30 am, it was like a dam broke and there was release, as people poured into the street …
I'm a first born and I never had a big brother. I suppose that's good and bad. In any case, I have negotiated and survived the ups and downs of life fairly well. Little did I know that for quite a while I have had a Big Brother tagging along and watching over me! Since who knows when, I have noticed unsolicited messages pop up on my iPhone screen …
As a follow up to my recent Recurring Dreams blog, last week I had a brand new dream.I was running hard in a road race and I was on pace for a good time when I turned a corner and saw a long train (pictured) approaching an intersection at breakneck speed. This is where my dream memory did not serve me. I can’t remember what happened next,ie, did I …
Coping is a most necessary skill/state of mind. Especially in these 2020 “Strange Days Indeed.”While all around me others are depressed and hang dog, I react to difficult situations by thinking and exclaiming (to the chagrin of some in earshot) “It’s an adventure!”That’s my approach and I really mean it and I think it works. Try it you might like i …
You should read Malcom Gladwell’s Blink wherein he posits that there is such a thing as thinking without thinking. He writes that we possess an innate ability to “Thin Slice” and reach instantaneous conclusions based uponlimited information, ie, at a glance. Such limited information is called a “Tell”. For instance, high stakes poker players scan …
Have you noticed all the tents cropping up in back yards and parking lots?A sign of the times!With the cold weather coming I am told there has been a run on out door heat lamps and tents too I’m sure. How else will restaurants survive?For me, Thanksgiving turkey with family is a goal which I have been pushing. Where is Omar the tent maker when I n …
I believe it is more than the survival instinct or rationalization that causes me to seek out and see silver linings in this depressing time of horrible pandemic. Do you see any silver linings?I see many. Some are small steps, some should have happened before and some are seismic shifts, but all are moves in a positive direction. One obvious and v …
I know someone who went out with Ruth Bader in high school in Brooklyn. He described her as smart, pretty, vivacious and a cheerleader. No matter how hard I pressed or the questions I asked he said no more. Being me, I was intrigued by his description of her being a cheerleader. It was spice that just didn’t fit her frilled collar image. So I dug …
One of my many problems is that I always remember my dreams. Remember The Paper Chase movie wherein Professor Kingsfield (pictured) terrorized first year law students?Well, my nightmare is my own terrorized Paper Chase embellishment: I’m a first year law student and I’m always unprepared and Professor Kingsfield is always calling on me. Then befor …
I admit that I have been a life long sucker (there’s that word) for a bargain. I am drawn to one like Icarus to the sun. So it’s no surprise that I love CVS!I love the discount certificates that come when I pay. I love the discounts that come by email and when I click on them go straight to my CVS card. I love that I can find almost anything in t …
In these Black Swan times I have a long long ago connection. When I was a young boy my mother told me that her father died in the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. I mentioned it to Nancy and, of course, it was news to her and her first impulse was to Google him. Later she told me she found nothing. Yet, it was Nancy’s impulse to probe Google that r …
This blog is inspired by my wife Joanne who I overheard riffing “I used to hug my grandchildren” (see photo) and on and on and on...I asked her to Guest Blog, but if you know Jo you know that was not in the cards. So here I go: I used to fear something bad was just around the corner I used to be a commuter I used to be a softball pitcher for the Ba …
Fridays With Fred
A perfect way to send you into your weekend