Weak Ties can open up new vistas of opportunity for us:  Mark Granovetter is an American sociologist and professor at Stanford and is best known for his work in economic sociology.  His Weak Tie theory is that acquaintances are likely to be more influential than close friends, particularly in social networks. He surveyed 282 Boston-based workers Continue reading

I couldn’t understand why my mood shifts substantially north when the bag boy at my neighborhood grocery gives me his habitual “Hi Five” and over exaggerated wink while placing my perishables in a paper bag.   Or why my step lightens when, driving down my street on my way to run errands, I spot my mailman’s truck Continue reading

When I was about three years old, my mom enrolled me in dance class.  At ballet, I was graceless. At tap, I was rhythm challenged. But at acrobatics, I excelled. It wasn’t long until I was doing handstands, somersaults, back bends and cartwheels all over the place. By age eight, I had a routine down pat. One Continue reading

We all came together this past weekend for my niece’s wedding to Mark.  I looked around the room and realized that the guests attending hailed from more than twenty-five states – representing at least that many viewpoints, philosophies, politics and personalities. I looked around the room and also realized that everyone in that room had one thing Continue reading

Tomorrow night my sister’s oldest daughter – my niece Suzanne – will be getting married to her fiancé Mark. Milestone events like weddings are an opportunity to revisit the past and reflect on the present. And it starts with gathering information. If you want to know a kid, ask his mom.  So I decided to start Continue reading

Election day is fast approaching and if you are like me, you are flummoxed by the hefty number of ballet choices – Judges, District Court of Appeals, State House, County Commissioners and more.  It’s not surprising that research shows that more than 30% of voters often don’t even bother filling out their entire ballot when they vote Continue reading

What’s the first thing you do every morning? I used to stretch, touch my toes and listen to my Calm app. Now I instinctively reach for my I Phone to see what new disaster looms on the horizon.      The aftermath of Hurricane Ian…     The atrocities in Ukraine…     The January 6 Capital Hearings…    Continue reading

Poor me.  I live in Tampa and my husband and I were away celebrating our son’s 50th birthday in the New York area when Hurricane Ian barreled into Florida – headed straight for Tampa. Poor me. Lucky for us, Tampa was spared, but Ft. Myers and all neighboring locales took a massive hit.We couldn’t get a flight back Continue reading

My week was spent obsessively watching the news document Hurricane Ian’s progress as it barreled toward the West Coast of Florida.  We live in Tampa, but happened to be in New Jersey for my son’s 50thbirthday celebration. However, family and friends -who also reside in Tampa – WERE there.  The days leading up to and Continue reading

Years ago, I used to have a sidekick to my weekly “Incidentally, Iris” column called “Incidentals from Iris” – tidbits of information gleaned from a variety of sources.  I’ve never quite broken the habit of looking for the odd, the distinctive, the tantalizing and the interesting bits of news.  Here’s a few entries that have recently grabbed Continue reading