Monday Morning Football Flashback
February 4, 2010
My only son announced that Jerry Rice will be voted into the upcoming 2010 Hall of Fame Class during Super Bowl weekend. He specifically relayed this factoid to me because he knows that Rice will always hold a special place in my heart—not because of his maneuvers on the football field, but because of his special play on Columbus Avenue.
In 1994, I was one of five female producers at Live with Regis & Kathie Lee. Regis would often come into our meeting and request a specific guest, always a sports star. I consistently volunteered to take the assignment because the other female producers had no idea who he was talking about. [Read more]
Help Wanted, Part 2
February 4, 2010
After grad school, I pushed and pulled my life so that I could immigrate to Manhattan.
I was in love. With everything here.
I remember telling my grandmother how I loved studying each different ethnic face on subways. My ardor was undiminished even when she worried from San Diego that I should move to a safer place.
These days, young people are still smitten with our city. But it’s almost impossible for recent college graduates to find gainful employment—even when they’re our best and brightest. Bottom line: They lack experience. [Read more]
A Dream for Dr. King
February 4, 2010
Please consider how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, dream could apply to so much that we need. To me, the non-violence dream, above all, means protecting the innocent and enforcing the laws that ensure public safety, government’s first Constitutional duty. Fire and crime fighting forces should not be reduced, nor should hospitals and schools be closed. Move traffic safely, not swiftly (walkers too!). Encourage and support only transit accessible to all citizenry. Lower the speed limit. [Read more]
A Lesson from Ashley Dupre
January 27, 2010
Just call me your psychic friend.
When the Eliot Spitzer scandal broke, I wrote a column called, “Here’s How It’s Gonna Happen” (March 27, 2008), where I predicted that despite Client 9’s “activities” while he represented us, he would be welcomed back somewhere. That place may be as New York state comptroller.
I also saw a future with the face and words of Ashley Dupre splashed all over it in the form of an album, memoir or made-for-TV movie. I think getting her own weekly advice column in a major daily newspaper comes pretty close. [Read more]
Winds of Change
January 27, 2010
For years, I have been speaking of the “IPP” or “Incumbent Protection Plan.” Let’s face it: When the people who serve in the New York State Legislature get into office, they take whatever actions are necessary to stay there.
I know many of these people and despite what I am writing here, I like them. They are fun, they are filled with ideas and I would drink a club soda with them any time. But the truth is that the whole process has become a self-serving mess. The voters know it and these are very dangerous times for politicians. [Read more]
’Tis Not the Season
January 21, 2010
Just when you thought you were done with Christmas, here I come with more stuff on it. As we know, it’s a season fraught with anxiety, depression, anger and domestic disharmony, all despite the injunctions of various clergy that it is the season of peace, tranquility and the sharing of joy and of song. The so-called Christians have had a monopoly on the whole shebang since they converted the feast of the sun god into a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, Esq.
Prior to that event, the Romans celebrated the festival Saturnalia, a time of big feasts, bellowing bawdy ballads, gift giving and decking ye olde halls with holly, ivy and other green foliages. The idea being that evergreens are symbols of life and fertility and that they would keep out the winter’s dark demons of despair and depression. [Read more]
Natural and Unnatural Disasters
January 21, 2010
Yes, earthquake prediction and preparedness are most on this columnist’s mind, but first some tips to prevent and cope with all too commonplace home fires. These are courtesy of a guest speaker, one of New York’s Bravest, who attended the January meeting of the East 79th Street Neighborhood Association.
We all need reminding to replace smoke/carbon-monoxide detector batteries with the two annual “time changes,” and to replace detectors every seven years. Lighted candles need extreme caution; consider the battery kind. Don’t overload outlets. Extension cords are for temporary use only. Don’t use water to put out a grease fire on the stove. Remove lint from clothes dryers. Yell “Fire!” not “Help!”, and if trapped in an upper story, wave something large, like a sheet, out the window to draw attention. As for smoking—a leading cause of fires—get help to stop. Need more incentive? You’ll even look better. [Read more]
“Charlie” the Charmer
January 21, 2010
“There is a God, and he love me longtime,” says “Charlie Harper,” suppressing lovely contagious grins.
I admit it. Unlike my friends, I love watching re-runs and more re-runs of Charlie Sheen’s warts-and-all autobiographical sitcom Two and a Half Men. (Perhaps I should say “freckle” and all—since TV “Charlie” confesses he’s got a freckle on his penis, which “Charlie’s” TV mother jokes is worn to a nub by his senseless womanizing.) [Read more]
Hard Times on the Hardwood
January 13, 2010
The “city game” isn’t what it used to be. The Knicks are on course for another losing season, and it has been years since a local college team has made the NCAA tournament, much less contended for a national championship.
New York’s basketball picture wasn’t always so bleak. The five boroughs were once as well known for basketball as they were for bagels and nightlife. [Read more]
Meaningful Holiday Traditions
January 8, 2010
To quote the greatly missed Fred Rogers, “We’ve got a lot to talk about.” Like the still-glowing-through-mid-January Park Avenue Memorial Trees, the city’s most meaningful holiday tradition. After sundown, you just must experience this reverently beautiful scene. Again, because so many still don’t know, these trees honor all who made (and are sadly still making) the ultimate sacrifice in this nation’s wars. Lest we forget, this sacred tradition was begun by several city mothers who lost their beloved sons in World War II. [Read more]
