READ THE NEWSLETTER I remember when the summer countdown started: My friends and I experienced anticipatory savoring as we imagined all the great times we’d have splashing in sprinklers, enjoying lazy afternoon picnics, family vacations at the Jersey shore, and best of all, not having to do homework. Even though I’m all grown up, … Read more
A few weeks before my summer conferences and vacation travel kick-off, I start drawing up my packing list. Once the Powerpoint presentations are finalized at least two weeks before departure, I’m organizing clothing, toiletries, and phone-readings because I don’t like to throw things together at the last minute. This season, I had an eight-day stretch … Read more
According to family lore, my father actually believed until he was 10 years old that the Fourth of July fireworks were staged in honor of his birthday. He loved everything about the festivities: The Main Street parade, a family BBQ in the lazy afternoon where he was grill-master extraordinaire, and, most of all, the celebratory … Read more
When high drama erupted in the swimming pool during the morning rush-hour, I was reminded of an ancient proverb from Rabbi Hillel, “In the place where there is no humanity, strive thou to be human.” Even with ear plugs and goggles, I detected significant turbulence in the raised voice and frenetic arm gestures of an … Read more
(Photo courtesy of Visit Fort Worth) As we ushered in the new millennium, I noticed the proliferation of hundreds of ridiculous and bizarre national holidays that have sprung up, the brainchild of some trade associations and people with weird sensibilities. These actual holidays (you can’t make this stuff up) include doozies such as National Spaghetti … Read more
READ THE NEWSLETTER Abraham Lincoln said, “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count; it’s the life in your years.” What a pivotal year all of us are experiencing. When things are in flux, each one of us has the opportunity to choose to live more authentically and fully in … Read more
Years ago, my hometown of New York City was immortalized in a popular advertising campaign with the moniker, “The City that Never Sleeps.” Living in a perpetually active metropolis, it’s easy to be swept up in turbo-charged energy and unrelenting motion. Newton’s Laws of Motion states that “an object at rest remains at rest, and … Read more
As acrid smoke from Canadian wildfires descended on the Northeastern United States, the red Sun ominously hung in a dark orange sky. Unfortunately, this wasn’t some newly released doomsday video game. Instead, it was just the dawn of another climate disaster dejour that activated a trauma response in me—even though I was 1,243 miles away … Read more
Years ago, a prolific graffiti artist in my neighborhood festooned the sidewalk with one of his profound truisms written in colorful chalk: “Sometimes we hold onto things longer than we should.” Marie Kondo would certainly agree as the expert on tidying up—which, of course, is the name of the show that catapulted her into a … Read more
When my family gathered for the Passover Seder in 1998, I didn’t know it would be the last time I’d see my younger brother Gary alive. Fifty-one days later on the second day of the Jewish holiday Shavuot, I received a phone call at four in the morning telling me that he had died suddenly … Read more