Fred’s blog from a few weeks ago persuaded me to reread a favorite book of mine, “Stranger in a Strange Land.” I believe I first read it in college and the themes have stuck with me all these years. In rereading it this week I was struck by how relevant the themes still are today, fifty-five years after it was written. Grok me?  

Early in the same month we celebrate Earth Day, GOtham Green® recognizes the five recipients of 2017 GOtham Green Awards®. The special event takes places at New York City’s famed Friars Club in Midtown Manhattan at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 6, 2017.

There are a lot of angry people in this country today. Unfortunately anger gets distorted. Handling it without destroying relationships is a skill that many of us need to learn.   Here's a true story that illustrates what I mean..."One [of a therapist's] clients voted for Donald Trump for president, and the client’s daughter, who is gay, took her father’s decision really hard. She felt personally hurt and angry by her father’s support of Trump. Because of that, they didn’t talk for weeks after the election.  

Bob Dylan is a contemporary and, with all his deserved glory, I wonder, if he was asked whether he has enjoyed a good life, would he answer candidly and what would he say?I imagine it's not easy being an artist, with the relentless pressure to continue to create and live up to an earlier iconic image.

I'm looking for a word - perhaps not yet invented or evolved - or perhaps the extension of the meaning or import of an existing word. Here's the background to my search. A friend has an appointment on a certain day and, having been advised of this important event, I ask to be informed of the outcome as expeditiously as possible. "Let me know. I'd like to hear from you." As soon as the words pass my lips, I realize the dilemma. I communicate with this person by talking or by texting.

I never was a fan of the Pope. Or organized religion for that matter. I understand the power of like minded people gathering to celebrate similar beliefs. And I will defend your right to worship any old way you damn please. Or not worship any old way you damn please.

  As if it were yesterday, I remember that feeling of leaving my children in the morning when they were young and heading off to my commute to the city. I often spoke to my kids as they started their day, with sleep still hanging in their voices.

In reading People Magazine this week, I was amused to read about an unusual  food combination enjoyed by  a celebrity. He loves to mix peanut butter into his scrambled eggs. My first reaction was, ”yuck.” But then I recalled an unusual food combination I enjoyed while in high school and decided I shouldn’t judge another’s food  mash-up.