My children observe that I post on Facebook about three topics -- each of them and how much I dislike the LIRR.

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 therein.  

Last Tuesday, July 4th, I agreed to go totally "off the grid." No phone or computer at all...not even to check to see if there was an emergency. And I only told 4 people I was doing this.   It wasn't that hard but I must admit that I kept reaching for my phone in my back pocket quite a bit. At one point I even felt my butt buzz as if I was getting a call.   Unfortunately when I returned to my electronics the next morning, there were several people who were very worried. One was about ready to call the local hospital to see if I was there.

Do you remember Rod Serling?  He was the creator of the amazing off the wall, but sometimes true to life, "Twilight Zone". Twilight Zone was a strange mix of horror, science fiction, drama, comedy and superstition with many black and white episodes concluding with a surprise ending. Well, many years have passed since Serling introduced an episode and yet I feel we have reentered the Twilight Zone. 

We packed a deck of cards, Scrabble and books for our long holiday weekend in the Berkshires. The weather app was predicting a likelihood of rain and we wanted to be prepared.

My attitude is that I’m less concerned about what you’re wearing on your lapel than what’s in your heart," he told the campaign crowd Thursday. "You show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those who serve. You show your patriotism by being true to our values and ideals. That’s what we have to lead with is our values and our ideals. - Barack Obama  

  Early in the morning, my dad put the flag into its special perch on our front porch. Most times, it was up before I was. But it was part of our tradition for July 4th.