I came up when Mayor LaGuardia read the comics on the radio, before TV test patterns and Uncle Miltie and listened in on a telephone Party Line. So a lot of communication progress has occurred in my life span, but I was never so much in the dark as I have been since the August 4th storm. First we lost power and we soldiered through it, but the nast …
When we came home from dinner last Friday night, it was a most welcome sight for sore eyes to see the pictured outdoor spotlights lit up for all their worth. It got me to thinking that the spot lights were well worth their extra cost as they have been in constant use for at least 2 years. They are the new, more expensive, “Long Life” bulbs. T …
During our past reality, when I came home from a “Hard Days Work” Joanne would greet me with “How was your day?”, serve a great supper and ask for little help with the “House Wife” work. Now that we are mostly marooned at home the equation has shifted drastically. To say the least, since the onset of the pandemic, I have undergone significant chang …
Yesterday was the anniversary of my marriage to Joanne Carol Davidson, my Roslyn High School Sweet Heart. Our wedding picture is above. Yes we looked like Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 back in the day and yes so many lamented that I “Got the Girl”. Only last week in the run up to our Anniversary someone wrote to me on Facebook “You are a lucky guy Fre …
“Every thing is up to date in Gotham City” is a play on the words of a Rodgers and Hammerstein Oklahoma song. With that I announce that I have updated all of my Social Media optics with the very same photo featured above. It is up to date because I’m responsibly sporting a Fauci mask and what’s more, my front seat riding cohort Charcoal is smiling …
When I was young my father taught me the importance of looking someone in the eye while giving a firm handshake. Handshake?History tells us that the handshake derives from the ancient Greek gesture of peace, extending the right hand to show that neither person was carrying a weapon. The last time I shook someone’s hand was on March 5th when I shook …
In these weird, stressful, sometimes sureal, uncharted Covid 19 days Joanne and I find ourselves constantly saying two things to each other: Janis Joplin’s “Its all the same f...ing day, man!” and Kenny Rogers’ “What condition is your condition in?” Have a nice day and mind your condition!
I rarely, if ever repeat a blog, but I am compelled to do so because, although posted 6 weeks ago, it is even more relevant and poignant today. The blog was entitled Typhoid Mary and went as follows: "Her name was Mary Mallon and she was a rich man's cook in the early 20th century. Trouble was that she was an asymptomatic carrier of Typ …
This blog is written with my wife Joanne’s permission because, at times, she is forgetful and relies on me to remind her of things. We good naturally refer to this practice as her short term Rent-A-Memory and it is my pleasure!I still have lots of room in my memory bank and I remember much. I awakened to Jackie Robinson’s earth shaking/game changin …
One the easiest, yet most positive things a person can do is just say Thank You!Not “no problem”, just a heart felt expression of appreciation and gratitude. Say it. It rolls off your tongue easily: Thank You!I recently was the beneficiary of 2 such expressions of gratitude and they felt SO good. I did not expect them and they really were not ne …
It seems that this is the season for the expression of very strong opinions about everything that swirls around us. A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about Typhoid Mary because she was asymptomatic and compared her to those today who are asymptomatic for Covid19 and used this as a set up to implore folks to wear masks. I was taken aback by the vig …
FDR famously said in his 1933 inaugural address: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. To me his meaning was that no matter how dire the situation may appear fear can only make things worse. With all that is swirling around us in these scary times, 2020 will surely rank amongst the worst years of the 21st century. I fear, you fear, …
Some day we will look back upon these unprecedented times and the beginnings of new norms and habits. Such a long view is not necessarily for me, but one thing has emerged for me. I have converted my 2 hour commuting time productively. Yes I Zoom (not my favorite pastime), but, best of all, I have started to nap. As soon as 11:30 rolls around, …
Her name was Mary Mallon and she was a rich man’s cook in the early 20th century. Trouble was that she was an asymptomatic carrier of Typhoid Fever. She denied being “sick” all her life, but she was caught up in the conflict between public health and individual rights. She ended up living out her life in isolation. Some of us may be asymptomati …
While walking Charcoal the other day I came upon the pictured sign. As soon as I spied it my blogger juices began to flow and I quickly captured the pictured image. What a stark, yet elegant statement! Kindness is defined as follows: In these unprecedented difficult days we should all aspire to be kind or more kind as the case may be. As we can …
Fridays With Fred
A perfect way to send you into your weekend