Against bad manners

February 11, 2018

On Oct. 25, 1995 – one day after the United Nations turned 50 – then New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani threw Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat out of a concert at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall that ironically featured Ludwig van Beethoven’s great ode to humanity, his Symphony No. 9. The Clinton Administration then criticized Giuliani for an egregious breach of international diplomacy, but Giuliani said he could never forgive Arafat’s terrorist past, even though at that point he had been praised by both the Americans and the Israelis for his role in the Middle East peace talks.

It’s an age-old problem. We have our values. Do we cast them aside in social situations? We do not. But neither do we make a mockery of our values by punctuating them with rudeness.

Impolite behavior seeks to ridicule and humiliate others. But it is really only a reflection of those who advocate it.

I thought of this while watching the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang as Vice President Mike Pence avoided contact with Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, even though he was sitting right in front of her and the president of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, had shaken her hand. ...

The Eagles have landed

February 6, 2018

Was that a great Super Bowl game or what? It had everything – an underdog (the victorious Philadelphia Eagles), a villain (the New England Patriots and Mr. “I’m Tom Brady and you’re not”), seesaw drama, frustrated placekickers, sleight-of-hand plays in the end zone and a modest hero (Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, the un-Brady). It was a most satisfying night, one that proved, as my beloved Aunt Mary always said, that if something is meant for you, it will be there for you – even if you’re an improbable second-string QB like Foles ...

Local Authors Book Festival

September 26, 2017

Writers like my pal novelist Barbara Nachman https://www.fashionmystery.net/ were front and center Sunday as Barnes & Noble Eastchester’s Local Author Festival came to a close. But the fun continues.

Join me and other writers whose work appears in the new edition of Westchester Review as we read from our works Thursday, Sept. 28 from 7 to 9 p.m. I’ll be reading from the story that became the basis of the second chapter in my new novel “The Penalty for Holding,” about a gay, biracial quarterback’s search for identity in the NFL. ...

More adventures in publishing: A magical night at Barnes and Noble

September 12, 2017

For me, it was the equivalent of an actor bowing on Broadway or an entertainer headlining Vegas – a reading at Barnes & Noble in Eastchester, N.Y.

On the evening of Sept. 7, I read the second chapter from my new novel “The Penalty for Holding” (Less Than Three Press), which describes the hero’s early years in Indonesia, before an audience of some 50 admirers. ...

More adventures in publishing (and the immigrant experience)

August 7, 2017

Last year, I attended OutWrite, the annual LGBT book festival at The DC Center in Washington D.C., with the second (and original) chapter of my then soon-to-be published novel, “The Penalty for Holding.”

This year, I went back with the first chapter of the now published book (Less Than Three Press) and once again enjoyed myself immensely.

Part of the fun...

Escaping for a day to Greenwich Polo

June 27, 2017

Two of the best Sunday afternoons I’ve spent recently found me taking a break from blogging and novel-writing to relish show jumping at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, N.Y. and polo at Connecticut’s Greenwich Polo Club. Both sports figure in the third planned novel in my series “The Games Men Play,” a tale of blood and bloodlines about rival horse families told in part from the viewpoint of a racehorse trying to become the first since Whirlaway to win the Triple Crown and the Travers at Saratoga. ...

More adventures in publishing: How the other half struts

June 15, 2017

I’m no Karlie Kloss in the looks or modeling department, but such is my passion for writing and my books that I was willing to take to the runway – OK, the floor of the restaurant La Provence at Bloomingdale’s White Plains – to promote my work. And so I found myself turning and posing in two lovely outfits as part of Tricia Fraser Productions’ “Fashion Food Faire” at Bloomingdale’s White Plains Tuesday night.

It was all in a good cause, too, benefiting Gilda’s Club of Westchester, which provides free support to cancer patients. ...