Mexican Interlude
My wife and I are back from a week on Mexico’s Yucatan riviera. We did not want this vacation. My wife won’t swim and cannot abide the hot sun. While I swim for exercise, my vacation preference is winter in the mountains to ski. But our son arranged to take us with him and his […]
Pete Reiser, Forgotten Baseball Great
Pistol Pete Reiser of the 40s Brooklyn Dodgers was the greatest player I ever saw even to this day. His career was cut short in 1942, running full speed into the center field wall in St. Louis in 1942. I’m writing this because I never hear sports writers mention him. But when my son said […]
Locked In
This past week parts of the northeast experienced a true blizzard, high winds and between 15 “and 24” of the white stuff. It sure looks pretty, but for me, it is anything but. Snow belongs on the ski slopes period. People who say they love snow probably do not have teen age drivers, or kids […]
Alan’s Banana Bread Recipe
We are not a family with recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation, well until now. We, my husband and I, have two recipes that our whole extended family loves. I am going to share one of them with you today. This recipe for banana bread is easy, foolproof and delicious. I […]
Teaneck’s Two-Mandolin Miracle: A Holiday Tale of Theft, Regret, and Redemption?
In the heart of Teaneck, New Jersey — that charming Bergen County borough — something straight out of a holiday movie happened this past December. It wasn’t miracle on 34th Street… but it was close. At Lark Street Music, the beloved vintage guitar and stringed-instrument shop that’s been part of the community’s soundtrack for decades, cameras caught a very […]
Four Seasons of Great Notch
I’m of the generation now referred to as the “Baby Boomers”, some even called us Flower Children. We grew up with Woodstock, love beads, Bob Dylan, Gloria Steinem and Vietnam. We were proud of who we were, what we could achieve and the belief that we could conquer any adversity, we were the future and […]
My Amazing Artifact
Someone sent me this essay and I thought it was extraordinary. Jack is a sixth grader and this is his response to an assignment. I wanted to share it. My artifact, a 1795 dated half dollar, is one of my favorite coins. It’s made out of silver with dark, beautiful, toning on the faces and […]
Buzzy Levine and Lark Street Music, Pure Harmony
As one guitar player and huge fan of Lark Street Music said to me: “The best way I can describe the experience of walking into Lark Street when you are a guitar player/lover/aficionado is this way: imagine someone who is a car enthusiast walking into a car showroom and in that showroom is an original […]
Balancing Parenthood and Work in Bergen County: How the Right Daycare Makes Life Easier
Let’s be honest, managing a full-time job while raising kids in Bergen County can feel like an Olympic event. Between traffic on Route 17, endless email chains, and grocery runs squeezed between Zoom calls, the word “balance” often feels like a myth. But more parents across northern New Jersey are realizing that finding the right […]
Steve Ortiz, Awesome Car Guy
Children learn to speak at their own pace. I, in my experience, do not think it has anything to do with intelligence. My own husband whose IQ is somewhere in the stratosphere, spoke at four. My children are similarly intelligent, one spoke at seven months and one at fourteen months. Steve Ortiz, my wonderful car […]