I live on Long Island and commute to work in Manhattan by car.  I drive to the East River on the Long Island City side where I park and take the subway 2 stops into the city. The distance is 19 miles and when I was young and training for the marathon, Ben Geizhals and I (see photo) would run the 19 miles into the city once a week.  It was quite a trip!

It happened twice last week. Someone waited to let me on the elevator first. “Age before beauty” he said. He was obviously younger. I joked with him in protest. Then, a few days later, a man held a door for me into a building. “Age before beauty” he said. Although younger, I didn’t perceive a great age difference. (Maybe my perception was off.) I thanked him, conveyed that his gesture was appreciated although unnecessary, and shared with him that I’m not ready to receive such courtesies.

I've been thinking a lot about movies lately.

  I’m just about ready for a new book. My house is about to slow down and I’m itching for a few minutes to sit outside with a good book and a glass of (sweet) wine.    

  There has been a lot going on with me this summer. We have been in the process of raising our home due to the effects of Super Storm Sandy. During the construction we had been living in a rental house and just moved back home last week. The process of moving back home after living somewhere else for a year has been daunting    

Since I first read about its impending return, and the closing of a similar rock venue in Times Square earlier this year, I avidly anticipated an opportunity to catch a show and the new iteration of My Father’s Place in Roslyn.

  Inspiration comes from some surprising places. We recently finished watching all four seasons of Grace and Frankie on Netflix. If you haven’t seen the show, it’s wonderful.  

Do you know what I mean?  Did it ever happen to you?  Did something suddenly come out of nowhere unexpectedly and happen so fast? It happened to me last week.  I was driving along the Grand Central Parkway, in lane and observing the speed limit, when two cars came upon me weaving through the traffic as if in a careless contest or race.