We come on the ship they call The Mayflower We come on the ship that sailed the moon We come in the age's most uncertain hours And sing an American tune -Paul Simon Feeling a little more optimistic about our prospects as a country after last night's Super Bowl. The ads were funny and kind. The one by the Blue Square Alliance entitled "Sticky Note" brought tears to our eyes, dragging this modern wave of antisemitism into view. Robert Kraft paid for the ad. The owner of the Pat

“Nice people made the best Nazis. My mom grew up next to them. They got along, refused to make waves, looked the other way when things got ugly and focused on happier things than politics. They were lovely people who turned their heads as their neighbors were dragged away. You know who weren’t nice people? Resistors.” -Naomi Shulman If you're still a Republican this frosty February morning, here's what your Dear Leader posted on his social media account last night. If you vot

"Though I get no more tired now than I did when I was younger, I take much longer to get un-tired afterwards." -C.S. Lewis Up well before the sun this morning, learning that 5:30 a.m. is about the only time there is no one on the sidewalks outside. Any earlier folks are staggering home from the bars (and into my hallway at 3:30 a.m.--lucky me!); any later and the people who make this City work are unlocking and setting up shop. Meanwhile my Facebook feed includes posts from b

"Everybody ought to have a lower East Side in their life." — Irving Berlin As usual, it's slow going here in the morning, with a knee that's still giving me fits, mostly in the dead of night when my foot hangs on the comforter and gives the knee a painful twist as I roll over. Hips hurt too. This bed is too damned soft. I guess I'm getting there myself. Last night sitting in my estate planning class, it occurred to me that I'm now making the transition from the "isn't this c

“But are there not many fascists in your country?" "There are many who do not know they are fascists but will find it out when the time comes.” "But you cannot destroy them until they rebel?" "No," Robert Jordan said. "We cannot destroy them. But we can educate the people so that they will fear fascism and recognize it as it appears and combat it.” ― Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls Another sub-freezing day, maybe the tenth or so in a row. It makes from some gray, na

"Monday Monday, can't trust that day, Monday Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way Oh Monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be Oh Monday Monday, how you could leave and not take me." -John Phillips Sitting in silence watching the traffic slide by, on a balmy 22 degree Manhattan morning. I arrived here early Sunday evening, studied, talked to P for a few minutes, then after reading my book about the October Surprise, Den of Spies by Craig Unger, nodded

"The ultimate inspiration is the deadline." - Nolan Bushnell A warming trend out there in the valley of the Chemung this morning, rocketing from nine below zero at sunrise to seven degrees right now. Yesterday I failed to post, not out of sloth but because there wasn't a moment to sit in front of a computer and write something. My most difficult class falls on midday Thursdays, Tax Planning for Real Estate Transactions. The syllabus is a nonspecific mess, with 200 pages of re

I have found me a home. -Jimmy Buffett Partnership Tax starts in about eight minutes, so a very quick post. Last night after Estate Planning class Peg and I walked two blocks to Swift's Hibernia Lounge for tapas and a cocktail before bed. What a marvelous place, with live Celtic music, Guinness, and every Irish whiskey known to man. And no TVs, anywhere. I'm beginning to like this place.

"Some men like a dull life - they like the routine of eating breakfast, going to work, coming home, petting the dog, watching TV, kissing the kids, and going to bed. Stay clear of it - it's often catching." - Hedy Lamarr Already handled my first call today, with a deposition starting in about a half-hour. I know I'm probably not getting paid for this one--the client is broke, but it's too late the cancel. An incentive to work from the stretch instead of the windup, and move o

"A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water." - Carl Reiner The great blizzard of '26 has proven a bit of a bust in Lower Manhattan. We drove back midday Saturday, me still aching from surgery the day before, trying to beat the massive snowstorm that was to arrive overnight. Portable signs along the side of the interstate warned of the blizzard, and directed that no commercial vehicles be on the road after midnight. We arrived back here a litt

Missed yesterday because of knee surgery, scrambling around to make sure my work affairs were in order before becoming unavailable in a way only general anesthesia can ensure. Things went fine, and even with a suture or two Peg needs to pull out in a few days it hurts a lot less than when I walked through the hospital door yesterday. A hopeful sign. Now scrambling/hopping around again this morning, catching up on work stuff and organizing our wagon train to drive ourselves an

“My favorite thing about New York is the people, because I think they’re misunderstood. I don’t think people realize how kind New York people are.” —Bill Murray A quick update because class is in two hours and I pretty much lost yesterday in a full day mediation which, if I actual get paid, may just about cover the rent this month. That's our place, up on the fifth floor on the far right. We're directly on Houston Street, the busy thoroughfare that leads to the Williamsburg B

"I go to Paris, I go to London, I go to Rome, and I always say, 'There's no place like New York. It's the most exciting city in the world now. That's the way it is. That's it.'" - Robert De Niro Well, we've arrived. Our view, at least four nights a week, for the next three-and-a-half months. Not so long, really. We've found our grocer, our tailor, our neighborhood pub, our deli (Katz Deli, of course, made famous by When Harry Met Sally ). our bookstore. All within a couple bl

I've got this feeling That today's the day. -America, 1976 Gray and 14 out there. Mediation in a couple hours, then down the hill to the next adventure. It's down there waiting. Let's see what happens . . . Musical Coda https://www.google.com/search?q=ive+got+this+feeling+that+today%27s+the+day&oq=ive+got+this+feeling+that+today%27s+the+day&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQABgWGB4yCggCEAAYChgWGB4yCggDEAAYChgWGB4yDQgEEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgFEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgGEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyD

"I can control my destiny, but not my fate. Destiny means there are opportunities to turn right or left, but fate is a one-way street. I believe we all have the choice as to whether we fulfil our destiny, but our fate is sealed." - Paulo Coelho Winter's back. When Peg left it was thirty outside, our high for the day. Tomorrow's sunrise promises to be barely into double-digits. They're calling for a seventy percent chance of heavy snow today, but so far it's just a dusting, un

"Instead of clearing his own heart the zealot tries to clear the world." - Joseph Campbell So, I was minding my own business, limping into Wegman's after sneaking off for a few minutes in the gym over lunch. Yes, this Wegman's. The photo was snapped October 3, 2020, the day we arrived in Corning to start this crazy adventure. Within five steps of my emerging from the truck, I was approached by a rather earnest, fifty-ish lady, hair pulled back tight and a ziplock bag of beige

“Losing a mother doesn’t happen in a moment. It takes years to appreciate the impact of what’s gone.” — Lisa-Jo Baker Just below freezing and not a cloud in the sky out there. Watching an airliner mark in the sky to the east, making a turn over the Elmira Vortac and bending the white arc leftward toward Chicago or places west. We always knew the altitude of the contrail layer when we were flying as part of a strike package, or practicing 2 v 2 or 4 v 4 out on the ranges. Gene

When the world is running down You make the best of what's still around. -Sting A pretty morning out on the lake, our last for a while as we head to Manhattan after Peg gets off work Thursday. This morning I learned a new word, or maybe it was created overnight. A blogger I admire referred to another event in the "polycrisis", the national disaster we're living right now. His particular focus was upon DJT siccing DOJ, led by a reality TV judge, on the Chairman of the Fed over

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming We're finally on our own This summer I hear the drumming Four dead in Ohio Gotta get down to it, soldiers are cutting us down Should have been done long ago What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground How can you run when you know? -Neil Young Still reeling over the week we've endured, and the murder in Minneapolis two days ago. At least they've identified the murderer. Hope you and your family don't get a peaceful night's sleep for wha

Bad news on my TV screen Bad news on the magazines Bad news on the newspaper Bad news on the elevator Bad news on the street Bad news in my car Bad news under my feet Bad news at the bar All over my clothes Under my head On the radio In the laundromat Hanging in the air Laying on the ground Walking up the stairs Bad news all around No matter where I go I can't get away from it Don't you know? I'm knee deep in it Who's gonna believe liars and lunatics? Fools and thieves and cl