Monthly Archives: May 2020

Marcus, the driver whom we had hired to drive me to Sao Paulo, arrived promptly at 10:30. He is wearing both mask and gloves and I am grateful for how seriously he is taking the pandemic. We knew him well. … Continue reading →

  There is an old Yiddish expression “Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht” or man plans, and god laughs. It is one of my all-time favorite adages not only because it is so liquid that it can fit any situation but … Continue reading →

  It is Sunday June 17, 2001, Father’s Day, and I am standing with my father and a group of people on the pebbled beach of Skilak Lake, Alaska.  The weather is cool with a silky breeze, sunny skies with … Continue reading →

  Have you ever not realized that you have lost something until you found it again?   In 1977 I was a sophomore at Syracuse University. Trying to fulfill an academic requirement for my liberal arts degree I decided to … Continue reading →

  Dawn was breaking over the Hudson. The giant grey brown snake that slithers between the Upper West Side of Manhattan and the Palisades of New Jersey was shedding its night skin and transforming itself into the golden beast of … Continue reading →

  I made myself a Dick Magrath Martini last night. I did this for three reasons: I did not have the ingredients for a “regular” martini and over the course of the last few days, I had been thinking about … Continue reading →

I am in a scene from Goodfella’s. It is 2am and I am in my car outside a warehouse in Queens. The weather has cooperated with the movie like setting with a soft fog and gentle mist. There is the … Continue reading →

  The backyard of my parents’ home is back lit by the setting sun. The oaks, elms, and evergreens and even the lawn seem to glow a yellowish orange, as if they are working overtime to catch every bit of … Continue reading →

  My parent’s yard was much bigger when I was a child but it is still plenty big enough for my dog Yankee to tear across the front lawn doing his version of a NASCAR race. He runs around me … Continue reading →

  It is early afternoon on Thursday July 12, 2012. It is a hot humid summer’s day. The type of day weather forecasters like to warn you to drink plenty of fluids, put on copious amounts of sunscreen, and not … Continue reading →