Category Archives: Personal Stories

My Dad

Last week was a difficult one for my family. My dad had been complaining about a really, really bad headache that just wouldn’t seem to go away. His doctor checked him out and then quickly sent him to the emergency room. It turns out he was bleeding in his brain. Fortunately, the part of theContinue Reading

You Simply Melt Right In…

My kids are pretty heavily into Schoolhouse Rock at the moment and it’s great to be sharing something that I used to love watching as a kid on Saturday mornings. The music is great and more educational than a thousand Sesame Streets. This was a special day for our nation and, as we watched PresidentContinue Reading

Miracles and Magic

The other day Charlie and I were watching the original Miracle On 34th Street and I found myself getting all choked-up. It’s amazing how a movie that’s so old can still have such power. After the movie finished and my son had settled into his bed, I sat for a while, contemplating just why IContinue Reading

This Boat Needs To Float

You know things are bad with the economy when one’s child comes home from nursery school with a note addressing the country’s financial situation. This is what Charlie had in his backpack today. I felt that it is worth sharing: “So.. We are in a very difficult economic time (an understatement.) Hopefully, this situation willContinue Reading

The Upside of a Downturn

At the children’s service yesterday for Yom Kippur, the rabbi asked kids in the audience to share what their hopes might be for the new year. My elder son, Charlie, held up his hand and the microphone was brought to him. “When we’re in the store, I hope that the prices of things are less,”Continue Reading

Seven Years

I can’t quite believe that tomorrow will mark the 7th anniversary of 9-11. Time just keeps moving on and yet, that day remains firmly planted in my mind as if it had happened last month. My wife and I were living in the city at the time and watching the towers fall. It is somethingContinue Reading

Memories of Water

Swimming with my nearly five-year-old son in the calm waters of the NJ shore was a real treat a few days ago. There’s something special about splashing against the waves with your kid at the beach. It reminded me of swimming with my own dad so many years before. Driving home, Charlie asked me toContinue Reading

The Potential of Father’s Day

Is there some value to Father’s Day other than the Hallmark greeting card that it is presently? Is there something more to this day than just buying another tie or another golf shirt for dad? Right now, the manner that we treat this day is emblematic of the extent to which our culture values fatherhoodContinue Reading

Goodbye To May

It’s funny. Usually May is what I would consider the best month of the year. The weather is terrific and people are outside more. Love is in the air. School is either ending or at least giving way to a summer break. I usually look back at May near the end of the summer andContinue Reading