Category: Personal

News squib#11 -Thanksgiving in Palm Beach (with Donald Trump)

Extra News TodayIt’s Squib Saturday. Time to share the best, most interesting (or most entertaining, or most outrageous) tidbit of information I’ve gleaned from all the stuff I’ve read –or done– this week. Today: Trump causes (a little bit of) traffic chaos for locals on A1A

 

 

7.30am, Wednesday, November 23, on A1A
7.30am, Wednesday, November 23, on A1A

I had not yet read the local newspapers or watched the local news on TV when I set out on Wednesday morning, for my 8am tennis game at Phipps, an ocean front Palm Beach Town facility. So, I had no idea how bad traffic would be. I wasn’t even sure Trump and family had arrived at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s winter resort which is also a private club. Continue reading “News squib#11 -Thanksgiving in Palm Beach (with Donald Trump)”

News Squib#9- Are You Stupid, Cablevision ? Or Is It Moi?

Extra News TodayIt’s Squib Saturday. Time to share the best, most interesting (or most entertaining, or most outrageous) tidbit of information I’ve gleaned from all the stuff I’ve read this week. Today: Quelle Horreur! My Internet and Cable Tv Company Was Bought by the French. This is What Happened Next

 

I was too wrapped up in Election 2016 to pay much attention to a nugget of local news, namely that Altice, a European telecom corporation, snapped up Cablevision, my cable tv and internet provider in July for $17.7 billion. So, while I knew the company and its service arm Optimum had been sold,  I had no details about the deal.

Monsieur Cheapskate

bethpage-welcome-sign

For example, I had no idea that Altice owner, French billionaire Patrick Drahi, is apparently a bit of a “hard-nosed cheapskate,” and has reportedly stated on the record: “I don’t like to pay salaries.” Nor did I know that he had started laying off (the highest paid) employees and introducing draconian cost-cutting measures as soon as the deal for Cablevision was signed. Continue reading “News Squib#9- Are You Stupid, Cablevision ? Or Is It Moi?”

News Squib#8 – Last Words (Hopefully) on Tiny Hands Trump


Candidate Donald Trump speaks at press conferenceIt’s Squib Saturday. Time to share the best, most interesting (or most entertaining, or most outrageous) tidbit of information I’ve gleaned from all the stuff I’ve read this week. Today: Why I’ll Never Eat Lunch at  Mar-A-Lago Again

In the seventeen months since we witnessed Trump’s glide down the Trump Tower escalator and his announcement that he was running for President of the United States, hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of words have been written about the man who still might possibly become the next occupant of  the White House.

img_0241 Here is but a meager smattering of my pithy favorites from the last couple of months together with photos I took at Trump’s Florida estate, Mar-A-Lago, on my last visit  (as in: I will probably never again be invited, and, even if invited, probably will not go.) I was there with teammates to play the Mar-a-Lago tennis team — and for a buffet lunch (Trump’s team won;  lunch was “amazing”, “beautiful,” “terrific.” ) Continue reading “News Squib#8 – Last Words (Hopefully) on Tiny Hands Trump”

News Squib#7- Happy 80th Birthday, Joe

img_0475It’s Squib Saturday. Time to share the best, most interesting (or most entertaining, or most outrageous) tidbit of information I’ve gleaned from all the stuff I’ve read this week. Today: Best Husband in the World Turns 80

 

I didn’t need to read anything to find fodder for this week’s squib. It happened right in front of my eyes. My wonderful, loving, generous husband, Joe turned 80 . He was not yet 50 years old when we met. Just 51 when we married. He was 52 when he became a father for the fourth time — to our son, Daniel.

How wonderful is he? Well, I have a friend who has known us as a couple for more than 20 years. To paraphrase what she says about my husband: “Every woman needs a Joe.” ‘Nuff said. Continue reading “News Squib#7- Happy 80th Birthday, Joe”

How I Became an American Citizen 15 Years Ago Today

– Eleven Days before the Twin Towers Fell

 Twin Towers In SunsetThey were there from the moment I stepped off the plane from London in October 1978. For so long as I lived and worked in New York City, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre were the most identifiable, visible points on the skyline: Larger than life. In your face. Like the city itself.

And, for sure, they were standing tall, glinting in the sun, the last time I saw them — 15 years ago, on August 31, 2001, the day I became an American citizen. Continue reading “How I Became an American Citizen 15 Years Ago Today”