As we near the year-end holidays, one of the best things in the world is getting Christmas cards! Many people include pictures of their families or trips that they have taken during the year, and it’s a great way to catch up with friends and relatives that you don’t always see. This year is different. The pandemic has robbed so many of any joy this year because there haven’t been any trips and because some families have lost loved ones along the way due to this terrible virus.

But I’m still

 The Governor recently announced new restrictions, the latest set of actions aimed at harnessing the coronavirus in New York. In addition to the travel restrictions, having negative tests both before and after you come to New York, he has deployed the National Guard at the airports and tunnels. In the past week, he went even further in requiring restaurants and bars with liquor licenses to close up shop by 10 p.m. All this to combat rising infection and hospitalization rates. No one wants to go

 I have written about the potential decline of New York City recently, with great sadness, I might add. But today I write to tell you that news of NYC’s death has been greatly exaggerated. I have been a tourist in our own home city because the city holds great hidden secrets and no one who lives here really bothers to look for them. If you were on vacation, especially overseas, you might not think twice about booking a tour of the city. But few residents would ever do so in their own city. I

The phrase was the title to a traditional folk song that was recorded by Bob Dylan and later Roger McGuinn of the Byrds. The song laments the death of a friend, and today I lament the death of a very old, dear friend. His nickname was Moose, but Steve Melcer, was by all accounts a gentle giant in a very big body. He was big from an early age and thus earned his nickname, but at one point stopped growing and that also stopped his climb in the athletic world. In Little League and CYO, he was a

 I figured a quick trip upstate before winter settles in and the third wave hits us was the cure-all needed. So, the mermaid and I packed a few bags and hit the highway. She booked an Airbnb just outside of town. My kids have used Airbnb, but I never did, preferring the safety of big hotel chains, but the mermaid picked the perfect location overlooking the Shawangunk ridge and the tower at Mohonk. The one room accommodation had an outdoor hot tub, and it stopped raining just enough for a dip in

Even a global pandemic can’t keep friends apart. For over thirty years, a group of friends from Greenpoint where I grew up, made the trek out to Montauk under the guise of a fishing trip. The trip was originally organized by one of New York’s bravest and his brother, and sadly both are no longer with us. But their spirit has guided the remaining friends over the last decade to continue the tradition. So, with masks firmly in place and more Purell than beer this year, the core ventured East.