We recently flew out of LaGuardia on Delta and I was amazed by the upscale 21st Century Delta Terminal. We usually fly American from LAG and the contrast was shocking. Shocking! Now I know why LaGuardia has been called a third World airport. Maybe American is third World, but not Delta. Plus Delta has direct flights to Key West!
According to Wikipedia, sleep is a naturally recurring state characterizedby altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity and inhibition of nearly all voluntary muscles. Wikipedia goes on to say that during sleep, most systems are in an altered anabolic state accentuating the growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, skeletal …
My son David has had a female Schnoodle dog named Lucy for about 4 years. A Schnoodle is hyper allergenic, i.e., has hair not fur and therefore doesn't cause one to sneeze, etc. 2 Summers ago David prevailed upon us to get one too and we did so. As many know, Charcoal is her name and as I have previously blogged, she converted me into a dog lover. …
We are addicted to two Showtime shows. They are Homeland and The Affair. Both of which had their season finales just before Christmas. Homeland is our number one following its best season yet. The two episodes prior to the finale were explosive and captivating while the finale was a strong bridge to next season with Quinn as the endangered love in …
College Basketball Hall of Fame coach John Wooden said "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while reputation is merely what others think of you."Food for thought in this time of New Year's resolution. We often hear one is reputed to be thus and such, but what lies at the core …
If you ever had the pleasure of being with Bob Formica you can understand why I give him the appellation St. Formica. In my experience, he comes closest to being as I imagine a Saint would be. He was kind, caring, giving, humble, funny, smart, loyal, good natured, unique, empathetic, thoughtful, naughty, fatherly and sweet. It was for these and oth …
I don't know how long it has been going on (I suspect many used spears were passed around by forward thinking Neanderthals), but I think reGifting is a great practice and venerable tradition. Everyone drives a "Previously owned" car and lauds recycling as a "Save The World" necessity, but for some incomprehensible reason their first cousin is frown …
Two weeks ago I posted my "No Thanks Given" blog (listing my reaction to irksome conduct of others) on the day after Thanksgiving and received a healthy 19 comments. The comment which motivates and foretold this blog came from Dinner Group member Ted Lanzaro who wrote: All of these are "princess problems". Being truly grateful means being thankful …
The Gotham Foundation gave four Summer of Giving grants of $5500 each at our annual Holiday Party this Tuesday. The grants are one of the best things we do and personify our "It's better to give than receive, but what goes around comes around" mantra in so many ways. As you know, the money was collected at meetings over our extended Summer in small …
As an alternative to this Season's usual profusion of expressions of Thanks I would like to publish a "No Thanks Given", if not worse, list of inappropriate everyday conduct and things which I hate. "Hate" is a very strong word and has a highly negative connotation so maybe I should say "greatly dislike", but you get my drift. Here we go:1) The Cr …
Our firm has had Season tickets to the Knicks (not always a good investment) since the '80s. As such, I have taken my 2 sons to many games over the years. Last Sunday the tradition continued as I took my son David and my 2 grandsons to a 1:00 matinee. See above photo. I have taken Jackson, the older grandson to a number of games in recent years, b …
My Gotham mentor partner, Flo Feinberg, has a wonderful favorite Yiddish word which she often tosses into our free flowing conversation. It is Bashert and it means "meant to be or predestined".I thought of her special word last Saturday when we went into the City to see the Egon Schiele exhibit at the Neue Gallery located at the corner of 5th Avenu …
When I was a boy my only area of reading interest was sports books and the Encyclopedia of Baseball ( for memorization). Only with the advent of audio books did I slowly catch up on fine literature. When my boys were growing up I indoctrinated them pretty well as to sports, bought them Baseball cards and coached them. Now I have 2 grandsons and th …
When we are on vacation we go to a bike friendly place that is flat and has bike lanes. We have been going there for 17 years and have never had a car. Biking is our main transportation, morning, noon and night. We have mid century "cruisers" without gears and pedal reversal brakes.To be honest, biking is always a vacation high light. It is both in …
I have never tired of "After The Gold Rush" and have always been a fan of the great Neil Young. Most recently, I was fascinated by his book "Waging Heavy Peace" and his professed love for his long time wife and collaborator Pegi. But then he divorces the love of his life for a Mermaid. Love can break whose heart?
Fridays With Fred
A perfect way to send you into your weekend