IN-FORMATIO BLOG

Every year at this time, for the past 17 years, this question comes up in conversations: "Where were you on 9/11?" That day in 2001 was a watershed event for much of the world.  I know I will never forget that day. December 7, 1941 was that day for my father when he was still in elementary school. My sister probably remembers November 22, 1963 or maybe April 4, 1968 when she was a teenager. Where were you that day? I was living in Japan at the time. There was 13 hours difference between Kobe and New York, so I had just put my son to be around 9:00 pm on a Tuesday evening, and then continued reading a book while everything was happening in the USA. I did not discover what had happened until about 6:45 am on Wednesday in Japan (5:45 pm, Tuesday in New York).  By that time, most everyone in the USA had spent 8-9 hours watching non-stop news on CNN or other networks.  It was just beginning for me. I sent my son to school that morning like usual, and he learned wha

When I was younger, Labor Day was a turning point in the year. Some places that I lived, school started the Tuesday immediately following Labor Day. I guess, because I liked school, it was a pretty good time. In other places, we had already been in school a couple of weeks, so the holiday weekend reminded us that there would not be another holiday for a long time (usually Thanksgiving).  Ouch! I seem to remember among the proper women of the Deep South, Labor Day was when they stopped wearing white shoes and dresses.  (I am not sure if that is even a thing anymore.) For some of my friends, Labor Day Weekend was the last opportunity to go to the beach before fall.  Now that I am older, I never schedule a beach trip until the fall to avoid the crowds. I, personally, don't like the traffic or the waits to get a table in a restaurant. On this Labor Day, I am not working, though I did pop into the office to take care of a few things. Sometimes I am asked about my schedule an