Nothing Makes Me More Mad Than Traffic Jams
On Friday afternoon when I told my cafe staff that I was heading up to Maine tonight, they looked at me funny. Yeah, why WOULD I plan on driving nearly five hours starting at 6 pm on a Friday night? Well, because that’s when we can go, and our dear […]
The Odds n Ends, Ins and Outs of the Business
It’s a day in the life….some of the interesting things I did today… *Negotiated a deal to once again exhibit at the New York Times Travel Show. Had to redo what we promised the show promoters, but all is good and the contract will be signed shortly. Nice to know […]
What Makes Her Wealthy is Doing Good
Again and again, we read about the terrible calamity and the $7 trillion in asset value that’s been lost in the stock market. It’s comforting, though to read about how much worse it was in 1929. Karen Blumenthal wrote yesterday in the WSJ about how back then, banks eagerly loaned […]
Palin as President? The GOP Blew It With This Choice
Thomas Friedman summed up the most convincing argument against voting Republican in November in his NY Times column. I’d love to hear Larry and the rest of those who identify as conservatives answer this question. How can they do it? “How in the world can conservative commentators write with a […]
Running Out of Solar Panels? Now That’s Progress!
I am heartened in these dark monetary times about a few things. First, alternative energy is really, truly becoming mainstream and the politicians are really starting to get it. The tax credits for solar, wind and geothermal are going to be renewed, and when President Obama gets in office, his […]
Diss My Cafe? Óh No You Don’t
Getting ready to scoot up to Maine on Friday night, and visit the summer rental Kentski made famous in his article in PreviewMA magazine and GoNOMAD. We’ll leave around 5, and travel through the night downeast, to arrive around 10 pm in Boothbay Harbor ME. I love this kind of […]
Old Timer Says Pipelines and Ships Are The Way To Go
Lately people have come into the cafe looking for our copy of the Wall Street Journal. They seem to want to read it more than ever, with the tough times that everyone is talking about on Wall St. Today I found a story about a man who remembers the 1929 […]
Dakota Roads Are Made of Ground Up Computers
People were happy in Deerfield yesterday, so I guess our big plan worked out well. I was sequestered at my little tent at the edge of town, giving out the maps, so I didn’t really get to many tag sales, but the streets were full and I got many reports […]
It’s Tag Sale Day in Deerfield: Will Anyone Show Up?
Ok, well now I am nervous. Today’s the big day. I’ve sent out emails to everyone I know, I have talked on WHMP and WHYN, trumpeting this big news, and tried hard to convince Channel 3 in Springfield to put us on their evening news. I was up at 5 […]
Memories of Maryland Still Entice Ambrosio
There are some tiny bits of good news, you just have to look a little harder. For instance, last night I read in the WSJ that the number of illegal immigrants coming into the US from our southern border is plummeting. Maybe it’s because there are so fewer jobs, or […]
On Brooklyn’s A Line, "Da Genie’s Outta da Bottle"
On my way to my last trip, I took a Greyhound bus and then the subway from Times Square all the way out through Brooklyn to Howard Beach. It’s a long ride underneath some of the city’s worst neighborhoods, passing notorious stops like Van Siclen, New Lots and Euclid Avenues […]
Conversations in the Cafe
In the cafe today, a well-dressed man in a jacket and a pretty blond wife came in, followed by a youngster wearing a blue blazer. The man strode up the counter with a confident air, and asked if we could make him a poached egg. We told him that we’d […]
Abandoned North Korean Hotel Lurks on Horizon
I found a fascinating tidbit on the web this morning, since I got up very early. It was about abandoned cities, and in the story I read about the Ryugyong Hotel, a 105-story hotel shaped like a mountain that is abandoned in North Korea’s capital city of Pyongyang. The building, […]
A Photography Show To Be Proud Of
I am trying to be productive amid the din of the chaos that running a cafe creates. Scheduling is much harder than I ever thought it would be, and the cacaphony of who can’t work when and who wants to get more hours when they want them is intimidating. It […]
Look Me In the Eye–On the Other Hand, Don’t
One of the most basic things I’ve always tried to teach my kids is to make eye contact when you are speaking to someone. It’s simple and you’d think it would be something you don’t have to teach. Yet it was painful for my son Sam at some points in […]
"Aren’t You Glad You Worked Out Today?"
Yesterday I did something that I haven’t done in about two years. Wow I can’t believe it has been that long since I worked out at the gym. It’s true, for some reason after my last gym membership expired, I never went back. But I have been bugging myself that […]
That New Plastic Bag Saves…If Only You’d Use It
Saturday night I ended up in Marshalls. While Cindy shopped for lingerie, I sat in a chair and watched Russian immigrants chatting and noticed how many of the rest of the people in the store were obese. In front of me was a rack of non-woven polypropylene shopping bags, navy […]
The Long Anticipated Debate Put Us to Sleep
I hate to say this, but last night’s debate was a disappointment. After about 90 minutes, I looked over and saw Cindy with her eyes shut on the couch next to me and found myself struggling to stay awake. I had been looking forward to the debate for months, remembering […]