Riding the Ferry He had found his way down the length of Manhattan by coming down the East Side, usually staying near, under, over or on (only momentarily) the FDR Drive. It was actually a far easier route than it sounds like and far, far easier than the renovated and gentrified West Side Highway with its constant stream of runners, bicyclists and dog walkers, with their coddled pups with cute little doggie sweaters and fancy…
My Name is Patrick Apartment living is great. First of all, living in Manhattan, apartments make up 99% of the residences. Most people are surprised to learn that there are less than 3,000 townhouses in Manhattan, so unless you were lucky enough to buy one years ago for some ridiculously low price like $5 million, forget it, you can’t afford it. With apartments, it used to be all about co-ops or condos since rentals were…
The Perils of the Pen I have been writing short stories for almost thirty years and have quite a collection. I have published them on story websites, I have published them in a book where I wove them together into a thematic storyline, I have even sent one off to a contest and had it made into a TV movie segment. The short story is my preferred form of writing because I have more than…
The Prophet of Park Avenue Russ was a high flyer. He had navigated the corridors of power on Wall Street with great aplomb. He had been at the bank for seventeen years, had had only one misstep from which he had recovered, and was back on the rocket path to the Management Committee of the bank. He had recently been given the assignment to run the Global Private Banking business, which was a large sprawling…
The Last of the Naga Naga Sadhu Prasad lives in Lohajung in Uttarakhand Province in the shadow of Nanda Devi. He was once a Royal soldier in Delhi but he now lives in a small, but relatively dry cave and for the past 30 years has focused his mind on his reflections as a Naga Sadhu for his small community, providing spiritual counseling and guidance for those who seek it. His life is all about…
Uluru Rises In the land of the Anagus where Uluru rises, the wise man is king. And among the Anagus, wisdom can only come with age. The problem was that to the best of anyone’s knowledge, both Reggie and Rolli were borne on the same day. Reggie was born in the area of Uluru. When asked his age he produces from his pocket a small piece of yellowing paper which says, “Birthdate: August 17, 1945”.…
The Boy on the Bookshelf There was a time when my life was all about collecting tombstones. My Wall Street friends know what I mean, but for the rest of you that think I have some morbid adolescent taste for collecting grave markers, tombstones are those little Lucite mementos that are given out by investment bankers to memorialize a deal. When you realize that investment bankers don’t create anything tangible, you can better understand their…
Where Did the Time Go? It was only 11:00am in New York and the entire Saturday loomed ahead of Sean to do with as he pleased. He had come from Edinburgh, Scotland, where it was 4:00pm and folks were getting ready for their night out and on the town. Sean wasn’t quite sure if he was done with the day or ready to take it on. He was not new to foreign travel so jet…
The Friday Factor It has been a long week. It is almost always a long week. It is a simple fact of life that human being must break up their time on this earth into manageable bites of time. Decades for a career path, years for a marriage, months for a school term, weeks for a task, etc., etc. My favorite GEICO ad is the hump day ad. Someone has decided that the week needs…
A Croc and Ball Story Last year, at my wife’s urging, I wrote a book about her dog, Cecil. The book is 80 pages long, is called Eat Play Poop, and is about the good fortune of one rescue dog who landed in the lap of luxury, as told from the perspective of the unbelieving husband. I won’t claim that the book is a page-turner, but I enjoyed writing it since the entire experience of…