My wife was a third grade teacher. My father was an elementary school Principal and my mom was a school secretary. In my family, “teaching” was the second most prestigious career-choice. (A doctor, of course was first ). In 1963, New York City was embroiled in one of those polarizing debates that we are famous for.…
In 1969, I had already finished my studies at NYU Dental School and had served two years in the Air Force, Being young and enthusiastic, I just couldn’t wait to move my young family into Great Neck and to finally fulfill my life-long dream of opening my own dental practice. But what about those patients…
Some of you Long Islanders can claim to have better schools, Some may have more parks or beaches. A few may even have better quality restaurants. But I bet any of you Five Towns’ residents or even those living in the Hamptons, that we have something that you definitely don’t have. Ready? We have two,…
It was 1973, and I remember telling my father-in-law that we had just bought a home in Great Neck for the “astronomical” price of $64,000 dollars. If that alone wasn’t bad enough , we also had to pay $4,700 dollars in real estate taxes! After CPR brought him back, he just kept “mumbling,” over and…
Do you find yourself yelling at your TV sets? Did all the Sunday morning shows really piss you off? Are David Gregory, Chris Matthews and even Bill O’Reilly and Sean really starting to annoy you? When you read the papers did you only read the sports section, because you just can’t stand to “read that…
For those of you who are hearing this for the first time, I apologize for ruining your day. For those of you who have heard about this before, I apologize for also ruining your day. Either way, this really sucks! In 1984, our “friends in Washington” decided that poor, indigent people, really could use a…
It was my usual Sunday ritual: Go to Long Island’s “best” lox at Roslyn’s ”Andel’s” and buy a spectacular sesame, flat-bagel at the one and only “Bagel Boss” on Willis Ave. Only this time, it was different. The usual $1.25 bagel was now $1.36! I told my friend behind the counter that I guessed Bernake’s hold…
Remember Ray Nagin? He was the Mayor of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. He was a media favorite and his constituents just adored him. So bright! So articulate! So caring! He was everywhere, doing it all. Nothing was ever his fault since the blame was always directed at President Bush, FEMA, and of course, when…
by Dr. John Smyth The year was 1915. Harry Dorfman just arrived from Warsaw; uneducated, penniless and unable to read or write any English at all. He found a place to live in a lower eastside tenement and took the only job he could find, driving a team of horses over the newly-built Brooklyn bridge…
I just woke up in a country that I “just don’t get.” I want to roll over and go back to sleep. Maybe it will get better when I wake up later. A bad dream? Unfortunately, it’s reality and I don’t think it’s going to end soon. Camden, New Jersey: Eighteen years ago, my son…
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