Fox on the Beach – We Just Move the Rocks – May 4, 2022
As most of our Rockaway residents probably know, they have been doing significant work on the beach, building rock jetties to try to stop the erosion. A few months ago, during an early morning walk on the boardwalk, I stopped to talk to a few of the construction workers. They were standing together chatting, just…
Read More“Always will be”
On a cruise ship, somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, I came up from downstairs and Marcella was sleeping. I woke her up for a moment that we spoke only a few words. I told her that the ship was rocking and the waters were rough, but she said that she knew that. I told her…
Read MoreFox On The Beach – The Commander – April 1, 2022
A wonderful thing about life is that people touch us along the way and bring us the gifts that last long after they leave us. I was in a classroom on the second floor of the 61st Precinct, Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, the day after I graduated from the Police Academy, in December 1981. Speakers…
Read MoreWords Matter
I have learned that after we experience something in life and we look back, we have a clearer understanding of what actually happened. During the last two years police officers have been vilified, assaulted and murdered at levels we have not seen in decades. Today, our hearts are broken as our city and nation mourns…
Read MoreFinding the American Dream
There is so much we share in humanity, and so much that each of us share in this amazing American experience. Each of us – or our ancestors – picked up their lives from places all over the world, sometimes at great risk, with nothing but the clothes they wore, and came here to find…
Read MoreFox on the Beach – Purposeful Moments – Tears of Humanity – December 03, 2021
A couple of years ago I spent a few solemn hours visiting the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites in Hawaii. It’s a visit I will never forget, and its profound impact stays with me. This week, we will again remember and honor those American soldiers and sailors who died that day, 80 years ago. 2,400 were…
Read MoreFox on the Beach – Purposeful Moments – Thanksgiving And Gratitude – November 05, 2021
I thought it would be a good idea to write about gratitude, especially this month, the month of our “Thanksgiving.” My hope is that maybe, I, and whoever reads this column, can be even more mindful of what gratefulness is when we are with our families this Thanksgiving. Even better, maybe, we can practice gratefulness…
Read MoreFox on the Beach – Purposeful Moments – Months After 9/11, an October Miracle – October 22, 2021
What was standard, was not anymore. No two memorial services were the same. Few bodies had been recovered. Families had memorial services only, wake services in funeral homes, but without a body. My sister and brother-in-law decided to do that for Michael. My nephew Michael’s “wake” snuck up on me. Days before, just when I…
Read MoreFox on the Beach – Purposeful Moments – Hurricane Sandy Anniversary: Seeking “Perfect Order” – October 08, 2021
I was living in Marine Park, Brooklyn, when Hurricane Sandy struck, but I was drawn to the affected areas, especially Rockaway. My typical day began at 7 am and ended after midnight. There were Police Commissioner briefings in the morning, but after I would spend my time up and down the blocks of Rockaway, looking…
Read MoreFox on the Beach – Purposeful Moments – Find the Pause Again– September 3, 2021
Recently I was walking on the grounds of the World Trade Center. Close to this 20th anniversary of September 11th, I thought about the months after. I remembered the fear and uncertainty, the shock and the sadness, but the memory that struck me most was how our world seemed to pause then. The manifestations of…
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