I read an interesting article in the New York Times recently. It appears that the adult son and daughter of real estate mogul Philip Milstein-whose wealth Forbes estimated at $3.1 billion in 2015- believe in life after death. They reside in The Dakota in New York City and, given the history of the building, appear to believe that ghosts reside ther …
Sometimes I feel as though the world is changing so quickly that I cannot keep up. My children are using technology in ways I could never have imagined. And, to them, it’s practically second hand. I used Uber for the first time last month when we used it to go to my step daughter’s graduation at Queens College. As parking at the school is very di …
I remember, when I was a child, numerous small stores thrived in my town; clothing stores, book stores, hardware stores, shoe stores etc. I have so many memories of my Mom taking my brother, sister and I for back to school clothes at Chwatsky’s or new shoes at Jack’s Correct Fit. And, of course, the owners knew my Mom by name as well as me and my …
I am very proud to say that all four of my children are college graduates and, in fact, two have their Master’s Degrees and have great jobs. The younger two are in the process of getting their graduate degrees; Ryan just finished his first year of law school and Sydney will be starting in September a combined program for her Masters in Special Educ …
After I graduated law school, I took off for three weeks to travel with my college roommate. Given the state of domestic and foreign relations at the time my parents- whom I was still living with- were very nervous about “two young girls travelling alone.” To appease their concerns, I promised to keep in touch. I kept in touch with my parents by …
Recently I sat in the middle seat on a cross county flight, between my husband who had the aisle seat and a stranger who had the widow seat. Several times during the flight the channel on the television I was watching unexpectedly changed. After the second time, I realized the channel changed because the stranger next to me had put his arm on the a …
On Friday morning I started, what will be, a long custody trial. As most lawyers will tell you, trial work can be emotionally and physically exhausting as well as mentally challenging. You really have to be “on” 100% of the time throughout the entire proceeding. Custody trials, by their nature, can be emotionally draining not only on the litigants …
I always thought of myself as a good patient. I rarely, if ever, take a sick day from work. In fact, I do not recall the last time I did. I push myself to get whatever I need to get finished, no matter how I feel. Sunday, I woke up with an apparent stomach virus. I stayed in my room most of the day in my pajamas, alternating between complaining, …
Professionally, I had a difficult week last week; juggling several court appearances, late nights at the office, and a few emotionally charged cases. To say that I was pre-occupied with work last week would be an understatement. On Saturday morning I ran a few errands in a local shopping center. When I had finished my errands I walked in the TJ …
Another Gotham member and I had a long discussion this week about a former colleague. Several years ago, our former colleague had made a series of bad and, arguably, exceedingly unethical business decisions. As a result, she lost her job and paid a civil fine. To my knowledge, that was the extent of her “punishment.” I remember, at the time, being …
On Friday, I had the occasion to take the Long Island Rail Road into Manhattan for a court appearance. Sometimes, while on the train, I enjoy just sitting in my seat, looking out the windows, and just watching the world go by. You never know what you might see. On Friday, the view was particularly beautiful. The ice-which had been so difficult t …
In the world of social media, “likes” are very important. I recently noticed that my daughter had taken down a picture she had posted on Instagram. When I asked her why the photograph was removed she told me, “Because I didn’t get enough “likes” in the first hour it was up.” Based on my Facebook year end history I am a good “liker.” Apparently, …
In Yiddish the word for jinx is kaynahora. Kaynahora is roughly similar to “knock on wood” and is often spoken to ward off a jinx after praise or good news. Kaynahora is a contraction of three Yiddish words: kayn ayin hara, literally not (kayn) the evil (hara) eye (ayin). Essentially, kaynahora is a word that one uses when they want to ward off the …
Anyone who knows me knows I love to travel, my fear of flying notwithstanding. And my husband and I have tried to instill our wanderlust into our children. We have always taken them on vacation during Christmas vacation and, in the past, have tried to take them travelling more often than once a year. In addition, on each vacation, I try to sched …
I have a habit that, I know, annoys my friends and family. I, generally, do not listen to my voice messages on my cell phone. I will, almost always, call them back but, when asked about the message they left, I have to admit that I did not spend the time to listen to it. Conversely, if I call someone on their cell phone, I generally will not …
It's Monday, Monday. Let me know what you think about. . .
