Similar to the tradition of making a resolution at the secular New Year, in many Jewish communities as we move into our new year, people gather at a moving body of water and symbolically cast away things we do not want to continue carrying with us. I love this tradition - not because I believe that somehow the trials and tribulations of the past …
We have a new tradition – Rosh Hashanah in Lynchburg. Why, you ask? Because when the children can’t come to you, you go to the children – in time to make lots of brisket. When my son shared on the day before our travels that he had not even scoped out a brisket to buy yet, I was nervous. Here at home, I have my brisket in the freezer at leas …
I have another instance where my phone was listening to me. And this one really freaked me out. So, if you could explain it to me, I would appreciate it. My husband and I have a home theater which we built right after Superstorm Sandy. The chairs are over ten years old and it’s time to replace them. So, a few nights ago, my husband and I, on his …
Less that a week after seeing the Boss at Met Life, Shelly and I took in a co-headline bill at Radio City. While bill that way, it was one band - Squeeze - that induced the ticket purchase. I heard of the other band, The Psychedelic Furs, but was not even sure I knew any of its music. That said both bands put on strong performances but when you …
Is it a burden, necessary evil or a joy? Plane flights are an assault on the human body from defrocking at security to squeezing into a seat on the plane. However, the excitement of where you are going helps you tolerate the discomfort. They try to make you comfortable in seats that give you juuuuust enough room to exist by providing drinks, sm …
Every summer we spend special time in Cape May with our dear friends Natalie and Richard and we are still in their thrall following our return home yesterday. We have known them since we were young and share over 50 years of intimate history. Yes, Natalie is like the perfect sibling. Yes, she's devoted to important Women's causes and has clout. …
Today is Uncle Joe’s funeral. He was a few months short of his hundredth birthday.Flo’s Uncle Joe was the superhero of the family. As Flo’s brother, Jeff, reminded his siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews, without Joe, there would be no family — or none as we know it. Here’s the story:After the War and liberation from concentration camp, Joe met V …
Summer always goes so fast. Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day and its gone. If your kids play sports you don't have any weekends. You try to squeeze everything in, go away, spend family time, continue to work. Never enough time. Never enough days. I also enjoy it but its never long enough, technically it doesn't ends until Sept 23 this year but the …
Did you ever notice the energy in the room when a bunch of Gothamites come together? I have been taken recently by how comfortable and open our connections are when we are in the same room. You can’t pass any group conversation without hearing someone say – “You might want to meet . . . “ This observation was loud and clear to me last week at …
In discussing Gotham I aways say that “Gotham is special, we care.” And Gotham proves it to me again and again. On this day when we think about those we lost on September 11, I thought this story would be worth telling. A few weeks ago I sent out the following email to Fredslist: The writer of the email below is one of my closest and dearest f …
I know football started and I enjoyed a robust discussion at the Gotham Golf Outing's cocktail party with Paul Napolitano concerning tomorrow eve's game I apparently will not be able to view via "conventional" means. But the tailgating Shelly and I enjoyed in the Met Life Parking lot on September 3 preceded no football contest; instead we gathered …
Because of the explosion of AI, educators have to rethink how they’ll teach courses this fall from Writing 101 to computer science. As an.educator myself, I want to embrace the technology’s potential to teach and learn in new ways. The issue is when you have to assess students, there's a need to “ChatGPT-proof” test questions and assignments. Cou …
I regularly post on X (formally know as Twitter) and I've never had more than 50 views. Then I posted a pic of Meghan Markle and said "Bingeing on Suits (and Meghan Markle)!!! and suddenly I'm a virtual influencer with 14K views to date. To me there is no question that the abundance of views is attributable to Meghan. What I do question is why? …
With Labor Day behind us and summer over (although, technically, we have a few weeks left), we struggle with the annual question of the moment:Did the summer go by quickly or slowly?
What happened to our world? Our lives? Our society? It seems that nothing, absolutely nothing is "as it used to be". We live such fast paced existences, rarely slowing down to "smell the roses". I personally struggle to find the work life balance for myself that I pound into the heads of my staff. I want them to resist burnout, realizing that …
