Many years ago I read the now famous novel Things Fall Apart, written in 1958 by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is considered one of the great literary works of the Twentieth Century. That may be because it was one of the first novels to come in European style and yet from the pen of a native African, but still others believe it is simply a great story that needed to be told from a…
Let’s get one thing straight right from the get-go, I am inclined to be lazy. The word sedentary was designed for me. I am both a home body and I am contemplative at all times, which predisposes me to sitting and thinking or sitting and watching or siting and listening, and as most of you know already, sitting and talking. When I garden, I like to sit. I now have nine benches on the back…
Yesterday I was watching an immersive video on my Apple Vision Pro, which has gotten a resurgence of interest from me over the holidays because I have been letting others test drive it. That immersive video was an aerial tour of the islands of Hawaii, a place where I have spent almost no time (I went there for 36 hours in 1999…don’t ask, it was a work thing). Hawaii has always been a place of…
Thirty years ago I ran the retirement business of Bankers Trust Company. BTCo. was founded in 1903 by J.P. Morgan (the man) and his other banking pals who thought it would be smart to put all their trust business in one institution that he and his pals controlled. BTCo. Grew to become the second largest trust bank in the country. When I was asked to take over the Retirement Services business with it’s 4,000 employees,…
Today is Boxing Day, an occasion that really came into the vernacular in America in the last few years. The term comes to us from England, where it is traditionally celebrated on December 26th. It originated in Britain during the Victorian era, though some of its customs trace back even earlier. The name has a few potential origins, but the most widely accepted explanation relates to the practice of giving “Christmas boxes.” These boxes were…
On Christmas morning, I will be heading off to San Diego Airport to pick up my youngest son Tom and his wife Jenna, who are flying in from Denver for Christmas/Hannukah (Jenna is Jewish). Even though I have recently seen them both in NYC, I am still very much looking forward to their visit and spending a few days relaxing with them. Naturally, that gives rise to many thoughts about stories that come to mind.…
In three days it will be Christmas. As I’ve explained before, we tend to spread out the Christmas season over the course of a month. We have had our Holiday Party here in Casa Moonstruck on our hilltop for neighbors and friends. We have done our trek to Midtown Manhattan in New York City for the gathering with all the kids and our extended New York family and friends. We’ve done the Holiday Gala on…
My last stop in NYC during my visit this past week was at the memorial service for a long-time friend and colleague. His name was Peter and I first met him in perhaps 1981, so 44 years ago. He died at age 84, so I knew him for over half his life and over 61% of my life. If I think of my adult life (post college), I would need to say I knew him…
I love the New Yorker magazine. It always makes me think. Today I read an article in the most recent edition about President Javier Milei of Argentina. It caught my attention for a number of reasons. To begin with, I spent a lot of time in Argentina in the 1980s trying hard to get back about $500 million that they owed my bank. That was during the presidency of Raul Alfonsin, who had followed a…
Given that we now live 2,759 miles away from New York City, a mere 5 +/- hours by plane, plus another four+ hours of transit time to/from the airports (not to mention whatever unexpected but still somewhat ordinary hassles occur at the airports on either side of the country), Kim and I do our best to coordinate our visits to accommodate as many multiple purposes as we can. The cost of air travel for us…