I’m in the process of planning my funeral. Relax, I’m hopefully not checking out soon. I’m just a control freak, especially when it comes to my travel accommodations. If I leave it to my family, I could end up back in my native Toronto. After three years in L.A., I’d…
My elusive search for a meaningful yoga practice began nearly three decades ago when I was living on New York’s Upper East Side. I was looking to meet spiritually minded people and, in those days, yoga was associated with the crunchy granola set. The practice was still sufficiently foreign that…
If it were not for a senior editor at Fortune agreeing to meet me for lunch about ten years ago, I would have never discovered the wonders of a Danny Meyer restaurant. Journalists have champagne tastes (at least when someone else is buying), and the editor suggested we meet at…
Jews have long been great storytellers. The tradition began in the BC era with Moses’ publication of his five-book anthology “The Bible,” a record bestseller. We’ve been on a roll ever since. Acclaimed Jewish novelists of more recent times included Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, Franz Kafka, Herman Wouk, and Joseph…
Summer has begun and millions of tourists will soon be swarming San Francisco, Napa, Big Sur, and other California scenic wonders. I welcome these guests (providing they don’t decide to move here), but I’m honor bound to share a secret California’s tourism bureau wants to keep quiet. For some tourists,…
My intentions weren’t entirely honorable when I struck up my first conversation with Charles Zook eight years ago. He was sitting next to me poolside at an unconventional retreat in Northern California, and I was admiring the redheaded woman he was with. She was naturally pretty, poised, and exuded intelligence.…
I wouldn’t want to mess with Greg Glassman, the founder and CEO of CrossFit. You might mistakenly perceive CrossFit as just a gritty gym in your neighborhood, but it’s a global network of 15,000 facilities in 160 countries, generating an estimated $100 million in revenues. Glassman is reportedly also worth…
I dreamed of owning a dog from the moment I watched my first episode of Lassie. For those born after the series ended in 1973, it was a TV show about the heroic adventures of a Collie named Lassie who was always rescuing people and saving them from misfortune. Lassie…
In his book “The Other Side of the Story” about his dealings with the media, Jody Powell, President Carter’s press secretary, presciently observed that if Americans knew the people responsible for covering the news, they wouldn’t believe anything they read. In Powell’s day, cable news was in its infancy and…
I don’t get Nike, New Balance, and other athletic footwear manufacturers. They spend billions on research and development creating and refining their increasingly sophisticated sneakers yet they are forever flatfooted educating customers about the competitive advantages of their respective products. The industry’s front-line product specialists are mostly kids working part-time…