The WSJ’s OFF DUTY section’s lead story “Hudson River’s Cool,” is about visiting New York States Hudson River Valley. For me, the Hudson River Valley is one of my favorite places to visit. The article details three weekends in the Hudson River Valley, by featuring three cities, Hudson, Kingston, and Beacon. In my travels, I’ve […]

Backpacks have become indispensable in almost all areas of our lives. From hiking and camping, youngsters attending school, mothers and fathers carrying their infants in newly design front pacts, and recently even for corporate executives. Well, I think it is about time. I have been using a backpack when I was working for advertising agencies,

The temperature in Florida has been in the 90’s, and when you factor in the humidity, we’re in the low 100’s. These are the perfect days for ice cream and ices, for a summertime afternoon treat. Fortunately, all we have to do, is open our freezers, and chose from the wide variety of ice cream

I read a fascinating article in the Review Section of the Wall Street Journal, entitled “How Modern Art was Sold,” the book is entitled, “Picasso’s War,” by Hugh Eakin. The book explains what it took for modern art to be accepted in the United States. The struggle the Museum of Modern Art, located in New

There is an article in the Review Section of the Wall Street Journal, “The Life Lessons of Summer Camp.” The first camp was started in Washington, Conn. In 1891, just after the Civil War started. It was designed for a few weeks, to teach children how to face new situations, and learn new skills. Since

I have been reminiscing about how I’ve been celebrating July 4th through the years. Since there have been so many, I’ve chosen several that were more interesting. One year, with some friends, we decided to have an evening sail up the coast. We started from my weekend house in Great Bay, N.J. at sunset. It

I read on-line today that its Peter Thomas’ birthday. Peter passed away in 2016. For those who don’t know whom I talking about. Peter Thomas, in my opinion is the best voice-over artist there was then, and maybe the best there ever was. I met Peter in the late 70’s when I worked for Reeves

Every year when the boating season is in full swing, I start to count the number of accidents, hoping that they’ll be lower than the year before. It’s a shame that people don’t learn how to enjoy this fantastic experience, being on the water, without making it disastrous for family and friends. There was a

I was reading an article about how antiquing on the internet is the way to go. How buying antiques has been transformed from going to actual shops. Although I buy many things online, there are several articles I want to touch, and examine before I buy them. Antiques, especially would be one, and thankfully I’m

I guess the reason I liked the wreck of the Rhone was that it was a historical event, and that it sank in 35 to 85 feet. The many wrecks that I have dived that were intact, were sunk as artificial reefs, and that made them exciting to visit. The first time I experienced the

I know when we dive or snorkel it always fun to interact with all the creatures if we can. One of the surest ways, is to feed them. But that can present a problem, depending on the animals, and the circumstances. I’ve been involved in many feeding experiences, but there were three that were very

This is the time of year that hundreds of Horseshoe Crabs come ashore to spawn. One of their known habitats is Great Bay, New Jersey. Great Bay is a large bay dividing Ocean County, and Atlantic County, New Jersey. Horseshoe crabs aren’t true crabs or crustaceans, but are chelicerates, and are most closely related to

In this week’s WSJ Off-Duty section, there is an article entitled “Watch Me Now.” It talks about how today’s graduates prefer mechanical watches. These are young men and women who have been educated in our high tech, computer literate world. Not only new mechanical watches, but also vintage ones as well. From a Vintage Diver

There is an article in the Smithsonian Magazine, entitled “Want to Work Out Like Walt Whitman or Henry VIII? Try These Historic Fitness Regimes,” by Greg Presto. It describes the first-class gym equipment aboard the Titanic complete with a photo of the gym. In the photo, there were two machines that really caught my attention.

There is a story in the WSJ’s Weekend Style & Fashion section. Men dying their hair every conceivable color from gray to aqua. In the article it’s reported that Tutankhamun’s tomb is decorated with engravings of men with cerulean wigs. Also, the Romans used natural recipes to prettify their locks, grinding up bugs to achieve

Over the Easter weekend, I read stories of dangerous flooding, tornados tearing through several states, and a wild fire already started. To make matters worse, the hurricane prediction for this season is higher, and stronger storms. Will the month of May be the new season start for the storms? I guess we will have to

Yes, spring is here, and with it another Easter season amid war, and severe environmental conditions. I’m using the term Easter season, because there are other religions who celebrate their happenings at this time of the year. In fact, I just read that all religions will be celebrating this week, something that doesn’t happen often.

The weekend Wall Street Journal’s OFF DUTY section ran a lead story, “Is Your Food as Virtuous as You Think It IS?” One of the new buzz words is Regenerative Agriculture. Here’s the definition; regenerative agriculture describes a holistic approach to farming focused on continuously improving biodiversity and drawing greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere

The other day I was listening to a group of young men, young in relation to me, reminisce about their favorite early television shows. The shows they were talking about were shown in the late 60’s, and early 70’s. I interrupted them, and told them, if you want to know about early television shows, you

Our lives are long roads, roads that we have planned with the events, and accomplishments that we would like to have come to fruition. We all do it. Some of us have one goal in life. Others, have a series of goals that they want to reach. The rest of us have new goals popping

This past Sunday, south Florida’s day of winter, I hunkered down, sipped a very good merlot, and watched the film, 12 Angry Men. This is an exceptional story, starring exceptional actors. For those not familiar with 12 Angry Men, it was written by Reginald Rose, and first broadcast as a teleplay in 1954. The teleplay

My Facebook friend posted the photo of Coney Island’s Parachute Jump all lighted up in yellow and blue. I guess, if you’re from Brooklyn, New York, this is important. Just to give you a little parachute history. Over two hundred and twenty-years ago, a Frenchman named Andre-Jacques Garnerim cut loose from a balloon, 3,000 feet

This is a question that every civilization has pondered since the beginning of time. The answer to what lies beyond death, is that there isn’t a conclusive answer. No one knows for sure. Even those cases of people dying, then returning, and reveling what they experienced, could be subjective. The real reason I’m writing this,

Recently there was a photograph on Facebook of this beautifully designed grand piano. That reminded me of an article in the WSJ’s Off Duty section, how designers are using grand pianos, especially baby grands in their interior designs. Growing up we always had a piano as part of our families evening entertainment. I’m talking pre-television,

This week in the Wall Street Journal’s weekend addition, they featured in their magazine, “Spring 2022 Women’s Fashion.” Having spent over ten years as an advertising art director, I am always intrigued by the full-page ads. The concepts, designs, layouts, locations used, and the photography. During my advertising tenure, most of the accounts I worked

In May of 2017, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus made their final curtain call, after 146 years of performing. The mounting public protests of animal abuse, sealed their fate, and it was about time. I’m sure it started from the beginning. The world is finally changing its attitudes toward animal abuse, both

To say that our world is in an environmental crisis, is an understatement. Organizations, companies, and countries are now trying to save the environment through profit. Yes, that’s very important, but it’s not a new concept. I experienced two such enterprises, back in the early 70’s. I’m sure there were more, but apparently not enough,

Recently on Facebook, I viewed some really great photographs of New York City, in the 70’s and 80’s. My favorites were of Washington Square Park, located in the borough of Manhattan, in Greenwich Village. I lived in the Village for twenty years, and spent a great deal of time wandering through Washington Square Park. On

We all know how important it is to exercise on a regular basis, using your favorite exercise equipment, especially with our lives being constrained by the pandemic. I know there are people who feel that all exercise is a form of punishment. Yes, it takes dedication. My favorite form of exercise is swimming. Unfortunately, I’m

Several days ago, I was proof-reading my new book, a novel, with my friend. She lives in an up-scale community here in Naples. We took a break for lunch, and decided to eat at the community’s restaurant. It’s at their Town Center, where all the sports facilities are located. As we walked to the restaurant,

This past week I read another story about how whales and dolphins are saving people’s lives. I am not surprised at all. It just makes me very happy to hear another story to justify the fact, that these marine mammals are highly intelligent. That they apparently are not holding a grudge against humans for trying

Recently I watched one of my favorite comedy movies, “Operation Petticoat,” starring Cary Grant, and Tony Curtis. For those who have never heard of it, it takes place during WWII, involving a submarine that is painted pink, trying to evade the Japanese Navy as well as the United States Navy. To complicate matters further, they

I was working for a small advertising agency as the art director. What I liked about it was that I was involved in all aspects of our clients advertising. One of our clients was a Vermont ski resort. For their ads, and brochures I was going to shoot the usual photographs, the ski lodge, and

When your birthday comes out on a major holiday, it takes getting used to the collision. My father’s birthday is on Christmas. Not only a major holiday, but a holiday sharing presents. We always had a special present, and a cake. Actually, I don’t think he cared. He wasn’t even sure how old he was.

My fondest memory when I was growing up, was getting our Christmas tree several days before Christmas. I remember one year very clearly. It was probably in the mid to late 40’s. My father was still working for the U.S. Army Air Force. When World War II broke out, he was deferred from military service.

My next Christmas memory always occurred the week before Christmas. The family trudged into Manhattan to view all the department store Christmas windows. It was about an hour subway ride from Brooklyn, to the Seventh Avenue stop in the mid-fifties. We usually arrived for an early dinner at one of the first fast-food restaurants, the

Now that we’re into December, I want to share three Christmas memories. This is part one shopping. Bye the bye, this past weekend I watched the second of my holiday movies, “The Bishop’s Wife.” I have to say that I never get tired of watching these movies. I will probably watch it again in the

I observe a sacred tradition every Christmas. Well, maybe not sacred, but something I have been doing for a lot of years. I watch three movies every holiday season. These three holiday movies, I watch in a certain order. It starts with Thanksgiving, and of course, ends with Christmas. I think that they are the

Christmas is upon us, which means that so is Black Friday. Actually, the Christmas season was upon us even before Halloween. All the retail stores started decorating early, so we wouldn’t forget it was coming. Just in case we stopped watching television, stopped reading the newspapers, and of course, God forbid we turned off our

Soon it will be Halloween, and I was thinking back to the different stories, and films that I have read and watched celebrating this holiday. My favorite is still, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” and the ride of “The Headless Horseman.” I first read it when I was a youngster, and wanted to visit where

There was a video on my Facebook page showing wild animals interacting with humans, or should I say, with the vehicles that the humans were in. Out of the four close encounters, only one or two, I could fully understand. The first was a car stopped somewhere on the African plains. There were two lions

In the fall of 1999, I decided to leave Los Angeles, and return to New York City. My first objective was to find out, what the job market in the graphic design field was like. I contacted some of the employment agencies I had used, during my years, climbing the ladder, in advertising. To my

I have always admired marathon runners. To be able to run, miles and miles, in all kinds of weather. So, it is only fitting that I relate to you my good running story. It was in the mid-70’s, and I was in my mid-30’s. I was living in the West Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan

I have always felt very lucky, to have had parents that exposed me to music, and art. Although, on the surface they were ordinary working class, they both had talents, that they passed on to me. My father, was an accomplished pianist. He played classical, jazz of the 40’s, light classical, and would try any

Experiencing a major natural disaster, like Hurricane Katrina first-hand, and writing an accurate account of what happened will always differ from the person who experienced it with you. That’s not to say that your perspective or theirs is the correct one, it is to say that as individuals we all see and react to situations

In the Wall Street Journal’s OFF DUTY Section, the lead story is about “Enchantingly Weird Shoes,’ ‘There’s an Ugly Shoe for You.’” They’ve listed a unisex guide to, Sneakers, Mules, Sandals, and Dress shoes. The only shoe I can really identify with, are sneakers. I do wear “The North Face,” water sandals, but that’s another

I always wanted to be able to speak a second language. Most of the peoples of the world do. Learning Spanish was my last attempt. As a child, both my parents spoke Polish, and Russian. My grandmother who lived with us only spoke Polish. Consequently, I grew up speaking both English, and Polish. It’s funny,

One of my favorite Thanksgiving Day memories is of course, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. As a child growing up in New York City, the Macy’s Parade was just a subway ride away. I can’t exactly remember at what age I saw my first parade. But I do remember sitting on my father’s shoulders, looking

I’ve been reading all the New Years posts, and articles in the news. They are full of a new start for 2022. We ended 2021 with serious problems. Those problems seem to be increasing. The new variant is much worse. The U.S. has posted one million cases, with no end in sight. The cruise industry

Today, November 22 is the 58th anniversary of President Kennedy’s assassination. Usually I say, of course we all remember where we were. But I’ve come to realize, that many of my audience, were not older enough to remember, or not even born yet. But, before I tell you where I was, I want to include

Last night after dinner, accompanied by red wine, I watched Dr. Strangelove for the hundredth time. I read an article some years back, about how youngsters now in their thirties, with the advent of video cassettes and then CD’s have been watching certain movies over and over, and memorizing every line and scene. I can

This year is “Woodstock’s 52nd Anniversary.” I want to relate my Woodstock memory. In 1963, I was in the Army Reserve, attached to the 77th, “Statute of Liberty” Division, which was depicted in the film “Hacksaw Ridge.” I was a radio telegraph/telephone operator, with a “Secret Clearance.” When I went off to basic training, I

Last week after dinner, I decided to relax with a glass of red wine, and screen Ian Fleming’s film Dr. No. I haven’t seen it for several years. I was surprised that it evoked several memories. Okay, okay, so it was several glasses of wine! It was the summer of 1961. President Kennedy, touted Fleming’s

Every morning when I get up, I’m greeted by lost of ads on my iPhone and computer, touting a sale, actually it’s the sale of the day. There’s Best Buy, B&H Photo, located in New York City, Diver’s Direct, located in Florida, probably the only one I look at, most of the time. Of course,

The image of growing up in Brooklyn N.Y. in the 40’s and 50’s was sometimes difficult. On one hand you had a borough of small individual neighborhoods, for the most part a very safe place for kids to play, and grow up. On the other hand, there was this stigma attached if you admitted you

The pandemic has had a tremendous affect on the restaurant business throughout the world. Old establishes restaurants, have closed down. Newer ones, are cutting hours, and days of operation due to, food shortages, and lack of employees. I believe, the restaurant landscape has changed forever, sad to say. I started thinking about my experiences of

Last night I watched JAWS, my favorite shark movie. I usually watch it on July fourth. For me, one of the best scenes, is Robert Shaw’s wonderful monologue, about serving on the Indianapolis, which was not in the book. I understand Spielberg disliked the book, and made big story-line changes for the movie script. I

I’m watching a video of a Killer Whale attacking a sailboat in the Mediterranean Sea. There was also an article about young Killer Whales, attacking boats in the Med. There wasn’t any conclusive evidence why this is happening. Could it be due to climate change? I don’t know, as I’m writing this, while I’m awaiting

The lead article in this weeks weekend Wall Street Journal’s OFF DUTY section, was about booking a vacation to a working cattle ranch, and what it entails. Basically, hard work, from dawn to dusk. The rewards are, learning, and experiencing something new. In 1991, Columbia Pictures released, an American Western Comedy entitled, “City Slickers.” It

My father died in 2003 at the age of, well it was listed as 94, but when we talked about when he was born, he was never quite sure. He could have been 96 or older, I don’t think he really knew or even cared. He was born in the town of Volin, in the

N:  I just don’t get this place. S:  What don’t you get, or should I ask. N:  It seems like everyone down here has two first names. You know like, Jim Bob, Billy Joe, Billy Bob, Mary Sue, Sally Ann, Mary Jo. S:  Well, you have two first names. Most people do. I don’t think

When I was growing up, I was addicted to movies, actually I still am, which is why I chose to get into the entertainment business. My favorites as a child, were the swashbuckling, adventure movies that featured those great fencing duals. That prompted me to take a ten-week Theatrical Fencing Course. I wanted to learn,

President Obama used his executive power on Friday August 26, 2016 to create the world’s largest protected marine area off the coast of Hawaii. It quadrupled the size of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument to 582,578 square miles, making it more than 50 times larger than the entire land area of the Hawaiian Islands. I

In June of 1990 I was living and working in New York City. I was the Post-Production Supervisor for the NBC show “True Blue.” After I finished the pilot, I sent it to NBC, for them to screen, and hopefully award us a series. When it was broadcast, it would be the Movie of the

I’ve seen online articles in the news about the snakes that are emerging, after their winter hibernation. Of course, snakes are very important, particularly venomous snakes. One article talked about, and showed copperhead snakes. They’re found in northern Florida, the panhandle, and of course, New York State. It reminded me of a prank my friend

A month after 911, Kim McGuire, and I left New York City, and settled in Biloxi, Mississippi. We need to regroup, and decide our next move. I had been freelancing as a graphic designer. The tragedy closed the city down. There was no work to be had. Kim was an actor, and an attorney. She

There was an article about the great bars located in some of the world’s oldest, and newest hotels. I was surprised of how many I have had the good fortune to visit, being brought up, and living most of my life in New York City. Some were big, and famous, like the “King Cole Bar”

“If you have one true friend you have more than your share,” Thomas Fuller. I guess, I have been very lucky during my life time. I have had four friendships, but unhappily it’s now only three. For me, the difference between Friends and Friendships, is the lasting quality of the relationship. Not that it’s necessary

Now that the pandemic is subsiding, everyone is eager to start traveling again. Will the planes be jam-packed, as they were before the pandemic? Probably. I was having a discussion with a friend, about the state of air travel today compared to forty years ago. Yes, for some of you, we had planes back then.

I was reading an article recently called, “All Aboard,” about old Lionel Trains, and what some are worth, today. This really brought back memories, first of growing up with my love of stream engines, both as toys, and the actual bigger than life, real ones.             LIONEL ELECTRIC TRAINS My set of Lionel Electric Trains

I must be very strange, because I enjoy silence. Actually, to be more accurate, I enjoy the natural and everyday sounds of life, since you really can’t have complete silence in this world. When I was working in sound for film and television, I could walk into my studio, stand still, and there would be

This Friday, June 4th will be National Donut Day. Donuts or Doughnuts, either way you spell them are my favorite treat. There are13 great South Florida donut makers, as well as others scattered throughout the state, including one in Key West. These are besides the two national brands, Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme Donuts.            

A story on the internet news predicted that this summer will be particularly hot, and they were reviewing the world’s best beaches. I don’t sit on the beach anymore since I’m prone to skin cancer. This is the result of growing up when sitting out in the sun was thought to be healthy. If fact

The last book I wrote, now available on my website, and on Amazon is, “Should I Have Become a Furrier?” The book is about the choices we all make in our careers, whether we should take that job, and if we don’t, maybe we should have. Its not easy, and I’m basing the book on

Last week I had a chance to screen again the action-comedy, “Fletch,” starring Chevy Chase, and accompanied by a host of excellent supporting actors. The character, Irwin “Fletch” Fletcher, is an investigative reporter for a Los Angeles newspaper, who writes under the by-line of Jane Doe. Fletch is impersonating a bum, living on the Santa