ABSILVER's World

I went for my walk on the beach this morning.  Just happens to be the second day of Passover and Easter.  Wondering about God and the world I live in. For the first forty years of my life, I was the obedient son.  More to the point was an obedient grandson.   I couldn't imagine telling Grandpa I didn't go to shul on a Yom Tov.  Certainly would have not decided not to go to a Seder or host my own.  To the contrary, I even joined a gay shul so I could say I was a member of a synagogue even though I only went there for the high holidays. Even as I came out to myself, fell in love, and grew as a person I kept kosher.   Hosted sedurim of my own. Tried to accept my religion while at the same time learning to accept the person I am.  The idea of questioning religion and every rule is a Jewish tradition.  Any one who understands where the Talmud came frame knows that debating of Judaism and the meaning of the "word" of God is a Jewish tradition and the reason we are enc

I think there are choices in life... you make a choice to be alive at times and more important to live. There are people who spend every waking moment focused on what Dr. Oz recommends to eat, drink, or breathe to stay alive. But they forget there is a reason we are here. I would suggest that reason is to live. If you believe in a God and there are times I do wonder. I can't believe an omnipotent being put us here on this earth to serve him or her. Frankly, why would she? She could have anything she wants, and control its destiny. Instead if you believe in Judaism, I was taught God put us on this earth with the personal ability to make choices for or against her. That means we can make mistakes. We can choose to go down a road not chosen. We can make our lives miserable, happy, pious, generous, selfish, kind or anything within our capacity. Why would a God do that? Think about it. Are we really the first reality TV. The God of all got bored and decided one day to create

Things I am sure of at this moment.. 1) When I am alone I am not lonely. 2) My home in Fort Lauderdale still pleases me. 3) I get to go for a walk on the beach every morning.. and the view is never quite the same. 4) That the city of Fort Lauderdale invests in keeping the beach clean even in tough budget times. 5) I can just sit in peace and quiet and be content. 6) That I love dogs.. 7) I think I have some of the best friends I have had in my life. Many seem to know when to engage or advise, when to be there, when to be supportive, and when to kick me in the but when I need it. 8) I have a great job with people that I truly like, and I they like me. 9) Sorry Jack, but I don't have to look forward to Dancing With the Stars coming back. 10) I don't have much to worry about... although being my nature I will worry some any way. Wouldn't want to fall out of practice. 11) With all the nonsense of our elections, it is good to be an American. 12) The Publisher of the Atlanta

For those of you.. that thought Ron Paul was not so bad.. as I did. Please read.. he maybe the scariest of the bunch. Link to Ron Paul Article

I just turned 47 on Black Friday. I wasn't black but being the day after thanksgiving. ... When I was a kid, I had the rare birthday on a school day. More often than not was in the middle of the family Thanksgiving in Anderson, SC with my Grandmother and family. As I get older I realize how lucky this is and was. Birthdays don't hold a , high position in my memories and my expectations. So focusing on a changing number or necessary entertainment focus on my birthday is not required or frankly desired on my part. Oddly, one birthday I remember is the one near my Bar Mitzvah. I remember my Mom and Dad taking me out to get a new watch. They said they didn't want my birthday to be ignored cause of my Bar Mitzvah 8 days later Was a digital watch with a light. Think it was a Timex and it did take a beating and survived my teen years. My Aunt Janet passed away the week before Thanksgiving. Reminding me of love, family and people changing my life's landscape.

Palisades is an executive conference facility, and I walked by an executive conference room and they had turned the tv's to CNN and we all sat stunned after the first plane hit one of the towers. People thought it was an accident, and then we saw as the second plane hit. We were so close and so far away. We could see smoke across the Hudson, but were safe on the west side. My instincts were to check on my team. All was well, and I told them all to go home immediately and be with their family. This was no longer a day to work. I remember one employee continued to work, while his wife was looking for her brother- in-law and told him to stop immediately. I spent the next few hours checking on friends in the city, and one was missing for a while and we were worried cause she tended to jog down the west side. Turned out she was down there stunned but ok. Next we learned of the Pentagon, and Flight '93 and the world was in shock with us. I had been in the towers. I had stayed

Happiness is in simple things and not waiting for the big moments in life: - dinner with good friends at home - discovering my new oven can be a slow cooker - leveraging the slow cooker to make a brisket - learning my TV can do Picasa so can have easy pics for party. - being happy at home and getting on a plane and knowing at the end of the day I will be happy at home. - Having Flowers .. in the bathroom? who knew... These Facebook page of you know you were from confuses me. I didn't grow up in the same Savannah. How queer and I guess that may be the point: - I don't know the second street bridge - The daiquiris at spankys. - Most of the bars - Or being out late. Hate to admit, but my priority as a teenager was to get out on my own and to do that meant leaving Savannah. 60 minutes on the future of marketing and 2 minutes a piece of the executives of different companies. Taught me I worked for the best. Sandy Carter made the most sense to focus on tho