On this day in 1783, George Washington returned to Mount Vernon, after disbanding his Army, following the Revolutionary war. They had their final meal at Fraunces Tavern, where you can have a meal yourself today in lower Manhattan. Kind of amazing to think you can eat where George actually presided over this historic gathering.

I saw a news report recently about an artist whose business is making bracelets. Each bracelet consists of colored string tied to a circle upon which a single word is imprinted. You choose the word and the artist imprints it onto the bracelet.

  It’s become an epidemic in my office. When they first started appearing, it was every few weeks. Then they began appearing weekly and now it’s almost daily.    

I especially think about my parents in December.  They both have December birthdays -- my mother the 17th, and my father the 21st.  Eve's parents by chance were also December babies -- her father the 15th, and her mother the 22nd.  Of the four of them, only Eve's 96 year old father, Rupert, is still with us. We had a splendid little family birthday dinner with him this past week.  

No it's not a new App or device...it's what happens when you slouch over your smartphone. No only does it ruin our posture, it alters our mood.   Recent studies actually prove that being in an iHunch makes us less productive and lowers our self esteem. Fortunately, there are ways to fight it.   Keep your head up and shoulders back when looking at your phone, even if that means holding it at eye level. You might start to feel better ;)

I'm a dreamer (morning, noon and night) and I remember many of my in sleep dreams.  Most, if not all, are not good. For example, last month I propelled myself out of bed to escape a particularly gruesome situation and landed on my head.  I will never forget that dream no matter what my brain damage may have been. Many of my dreams are recurrent like not being prepared and being called on in Law School or failing a big test.  Usually I'm happy to wake up and reassure myself that all's well that ends well.

How do you put 70 people of diverse backgrounds and interests in a room at the Friar's Club for an hour and a half lunch and keep it in the family? Well, that's exactly what Nancy Schess (and all those who attended) did yesterday at a triple meeting of the New York Women's Group, The Bandit Group and the New York Health and Aging Resources Group.

Time for a trip down memory lane. A story from Parade magazine: Christmas in Boston, 1963