Verbal Honey

I Would Still Be Your Friend

2011-11-02T09:40:00.004-04:00

If I had only seen you face, In this or any other place. I would still be your friend. If I had only heard your voice, Amid the universe of noise. I would still be your friend. If I had only read your words, In full or only just one third. I would still be your friend. If I had only known your thoughts, From all the people you had taught. I would still be your friend. If I were

Happy Birthday Mr. President

2011-08-05T08:53:00.001-04:00

Breaking News From the Wolf Network... President Barak Obama turned 50 years of age yesterday despite efforts from Congress to block the move. Legislators worked feverishly to avoid this, the birthday, which was scheduled to take place just past midnight. A last minute compromise by the President seemed to save the day when he agreed not to raise the issue again for one full year.The White

Vineyard's Blend

2011-07-22T13:03:00.000-04:00

I make wine as a hobby and my daughter is studying to be a sommelier, so I have some knowledge of wine. But I think I have much more knowledge about life and will combine both here for illustration. I recently spent a week and a half on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and came away with a interesting observation. Wine comes in many forms and varieties, as do people, and how people see

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2011-07-02T21:21:00.000-04:00

It does not matter what day it is when you are in a special place with special people. Any day there is a beautiful day. And I have found that the women in this particular neighborhood make it that way. I don’t know if people who are not familiar with the section of East Flatbush in Brooklyn have any idea of the beauty, caring, love and kindness that pervades this place. In my long and

Insert your worst word here _____ .

2011-05-26T15:53:00.000-04:00

But please do not say it. Words can be powerful and they can heal, and words can hurt deeply. Powerful words are written down and used again or referenced. They guide and inspire; they bring hope and resolve. Healing words are passive and gentle, much appreciated in the moment, but often easily forgotten. Hurtful words dig in and last forever, they leave scars and turn people’s lives in the

TGIF the 13th??

2011-05-13T08:25:00.019-04:00

Well how can one person manage to do 13 superstitious things just getting ready for work? In an effort to avoid such things I managed to only make things worse. Upon waking I touched my left foot on the floor first (1). Being annoyed by this I cracked the mirror in the bathroom retrieving my shave cream (2). Trying to make up for this I figured I'd throw some salt over my shoulder for

No Ordinary Lunch

2011-05-05T13:24:00.000-04:00

From the Desk of the Esquire's Kitchen Today I wish to share a brave intervention in the never ending quest to improve the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Culinary inspiration struck me this morning when I spied some Raspberry Preserves in the fridge. No ordinary PB&J today, I thought! I quickly assembled the needed tools and food stuffs. One butter knife and a tablespoon would suffice to

It is 4:30 AM - One Hundred and Fifty Years Later

2011-04-12T04:30:00.001-04:00

An odd title, to be sure, unless you are a history buff and realize what today represents. It is 4:30 AM on April 12, 2011. I looked at my alarm clock this morning and I noted this time, on this day. It was not accidental as I am a restless sleeper and often check the time as I shift and turn throughout the night. Today, however, I wanted to see the clock turn to 4:30 AM for a very particular

ALOHA means Hello/Good-bye"

2011-03-24T20:41:00.000-04:00

I heard a new word this weekend. At least new to me, and yet this simple word explains so much about the rights and wrongs of human history. The word is "haole" and is pronounced "howly". The context in which I heard it for the first time was a story of the reaction of the Hawaiian natives to the arrival of the white man on their great wooden ships. It was both a first impression and a

Your Beauty...

2011-03-06T15:58:00.000-05:00

By L.S. When I see the beauty of your face,I know I’ve seen no greater in this earthly place.When I see the beauty of your soul,I know in mine it has filled a waiting hole.When I see the beauty of your mind, I know that you are truly one of a kind.When I see the beauty of your heart,I pray that as friends we may never part.When I see the beauty of your spirit, I then truly know your beauty; all

Walking For Dummies

2011-02-28T14:25:00.001-05:00

Ambrosia I can understand why a viral sensation was created when Mall security released footage of a woman caught on camera, texting while walking until she tripped and fell into a water fountain. I will admit that this was hilarious and I believe all of the news stations felt the same way as they kept rewinding it and rewinding it unnecessarily. Like it or not, texting has become a part of our

The Pain That is Necessary to Live

2010-11-03T13:38:00.000-04:00

The ancient belief that the heart was the universal center of emotion in the human body is not far off really. While we now know that the brain serves this function, we still feel such emotions as heartache, or emotions that are heart felt, and we can be heart broken over some event or thing. Some of us wear our hearts on our sleeves and some of us are known for our good heartedness. Some

Tomorrow Never Comes

2010-10-21T10:12:00.000-04:00

Each day we look ahead seeing more tomorrows than we can count, Some of them are ours, of course, and some are not, no doubt. Every today was once tomorrow and every tomorrow was once today, And in the end, no matter what, they’ll all be yesterday. Each tomorrow arrives as today so there really is no chance, For it to be tomorrow if we can never get there in advance. Every day that’s ever been

The Seasons of Our Lives

2010-10-06T02:33:00.000-04:00

We are born in the ‘Spring’ of our lives; beginning from practically nothing. We grow and stretch, and learn and change from helpless children to an adult form that will take shape in the seasons to come. This is meant to be the time of innocence and education; of soft rain and gentle winds. We are supposed to be nurtured and protected, encouraged and connected to what life has to offer. For

The Day Before 9/11

2010-09-10T11:03:00.000-04:00

By L.S. The day before we looked calmly to the coming season of fall, The day before we did not know so many would die answering the call. That day we were a nation in peril though acting as if at rest, We did not know that the next day we’d lose our very best. The day before we worked and played; going about our busy lives, We did not know that the evil among us had taken out their knives

Blood, Sweat, Tears...and some Love in Between

2010-09-05T13:59:00.001-04:00

Last weekend I had the great pleasure and satisfaction of working my sixth Habitat for Humanity house project. It does not get all the hype and commercial support of the TV series, Extreme Makeover, and the family benefiting from the new home must put in months of sweat equity once they've been accepted following a rigorous application process. But for them and for anyone who gives a little

We Are Citizens of the World

2010-08-17T12:31:00.000-04:00

I recently traveled to a country I have never been to, where the people speak a language I do not. My biggest concern about this experience was making some kind of mistake that would insult or disrespect the people or the culture I was going to be the guest of. I did not want to be, or to be seen as, an ugly American. Personally, I think I succeeded, but as I was traveling with a group, others

A penny for my thoughts...

2010-07-28T23:43:00.000-04:00

Every Little Bit Helps I am a coin collector, and in my younger days, did so very actively. I had the good fortune, as a very young boy, of working in my father's store when silver coins were still the norm until "clad" or copper filled coins arrived on the scene in 1965. In any event, over the years, I had collected some $220 in pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars and even

Sizzling on the Sidewalk vs. Evaporating in the Elevator

2010-07-21T21:16:00.000-04:00

Ambrosia I just wanted to share a little of how my day began today. First, I just want to remind everyone that we are experiencing the hottest summer on record. Today was no different. This morning around 9am it already felt like 95 degrees in the sun. I rushed to work awaiting the glorious deep freeze created by the industrial AC's in the hospital I work in. Strangely, there was a crowd

...Our Home, Sweet Home...

2010-07-04T11:17:00.002-04:00

New York - America's Capital? I have a long commute to work each day. I try to keep alert with news, music (especially music), an occasional book-on-tape and just by being observant. Two years ago I started to notice how many out-of-state license plates there were on the cars of my fellow travelers. I decided to record them with the goal of seeing a plate from every US state within one year

Beyond the Paint

2010-07-02T22:50:00.001-04:00

Ambrosia Take a look at this picture. Do you see the blue scaffolding on the side of the house with the brown siding? Well, you can't see now but there was a man the day before painting the sides of those beautiful windows on the second floor of the house. At first glance I said, "It's about time." They have been peeling for years. But then I noticed something strange. The painter, standing on

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T07:49:00.000-04:00

There Is No Higher Calling Being a father that is. And, that is being a real father, not simply fathering a child. In the process of creating a new life the male side of the equation certainly is the easy part of it. That fact should not set the tone for the rest of the process, because while it may be easy to become a father, it is not easy to be a father. By that I mean it is not and

Two for the Price of One

2010-06-13T17:53:00.014-04:00

Grandmothersby Penny Venticinque The only time I saw my father cry was at his mother’s funeral. I was 12. This was my first funeral, and the first person close to me who died. My father’s mother lived with us. In fact, both of my grandmothers lived with us, which I later found out, was a rarity. Two mothers-in-law under the same roof. It must have been difficult for both my father and my

Kiddie Street Chic

2010-06-11T04:03:00.000-04:00

The great thing about New York City, our nation's Fashion capital, is the chance of finding fun Avant Garde things happening out on the street for free rather than tucked away inside for a fee. This afternoon, while walking down Flatbush Avenue, a street that runs from the Manhattan Bridge to the Mill Basin area and beyond, we noticed a NYGard event in progress. It was hard to miss the tall lanky

... Worth a Thousand Words

2010-06-09T13:01:00.001-04:00

Photographs By Penny Venticinque It’s funny how all women have issues with their bodies. No matter what actual shape our bodies are in, we all harbor some ill feelings about how we look – whether it’s our bodies as a whole, or individual parts – there’s always something about our bodies that make us cringe. And I thought it was just me. Just this morning I was talking to a colleague who