Ezra's Essays

Category: 2002

  • THREE INTERESTING WOMEN

    On Friday, after the big Christmas 2002 snowstorm had passed, the people at the opticians called to say my new eye glasses were ready to be picked up. Standing across the busy street waiting for the light to change, a man came up behind me and said, “How about the weather?” As I turned around…

  • DUTY | THE VETERAN’S HISTORY PROJECT

    In the spring and summer of 2001, the former AT&T Long Lines Headquarters building at 32 Sixth Avenue in New York City was sold to the Rudin Corporation. I had a vested interest in the lobby of that building because that is where a plaque commemorating the memory of those serving in World War II…

  • GET IT IN WRITING

    You may find it hard to believe, but late in 1977, a bill was being prepared to be offered to the Assembly of the New Jersey Legislature, that would require men dating women to declare their intentions, in writing, early on in the romantic process. So if a young man saw a nice looking young…

  • ASHCROFT ENDORSES CRISCO, LILLIE CARR AND JACOB’S LADDER

    No essay on Bush would be complete unless it included a thought or two about the Assemblies of God follower in Bush’s cabinet, John Ashcroft. He believes that God’s hand is on his shoulder in every move he makes. Ashcroft – The Ultimate Embarrassment John Ashcroft, Bush’s selection for the United States Attorney General, comes…

  • YASSER’S LOVE LIFE

    Preamble I offer you this three part preamble to set the record straight and to prepare you for my thoughts on Yasser Arafat’s love life. Writing about this subject comes naturally. My first name is Ezra who is generally described as the scribe of Jerusalem in what the Christians call the Old Testament. (See the…

  • NEW YORK, NEW YORK Part 12 – The Yanks, The Giants and The Brooklyn Dodgers

    When it was determined that essays would become a permanent fixture in my life, it was apparent that my long term love affair with baseball would result in a piece about what used to be called, “America’s Pastime.” And so this is a baseball story. No politicians, no preachers, no cats or pets, just baseball.…

  • WE HAVE A BOY

    [Editor’s note: The NY NY series will end with part 12 tomorrow. It’s even longer than the Moscow one, and I’m a little pressed for time tonight, so we’re doing this instead and switching it later] I can’t ever remember having delusions of grandeur. If I had, my mother or my siblings – all older…

  • NEW YORK, NEW YORK PART 11 – MOSCOW, MANHATTAN AND THE FBI

    Readers of these essays may recall a story I wrote about Howard Pappert, Dave Dietz and myself setting out to visit some countries behind what Winston Churchill called “The Iron Curtain.” Visiting communist countries in the 1970’s and 1980’s was not a pleasant task for those of us at AT&T who had the responsibility for…

  • NEW YORK, NEW YORK PART 10 – SHOW BIZNESS

    When I started out to write about life in New York, it seemed to me that four or five essays would do the trick. Admittedly, I never won a Rhodes Scholarship for my excellence in mathematics. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Part 10 of the New York series is now being prepared…

  • NEW YORK, NEW YORK PART 6 – L’AIGLON AND VOGA E VA | TWO GREAT ITALIAN ARTISTS

    In the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament, there are two biblical injunctions or commands to “make a joyful noise.” If you are skilled at reading Roman numerals, you can look them up yourself to make sure that I know what I am talking about. One comes from Psalms, Chapter LXVI, verse one and…