Gary's weekly e-mail

Good morning and welcome to Hazy, Hot and Humid New York City.

For those of us to have to wear a suit to work every day (even through the summer) we pray for nice weather on the weekends and cooler-more manageable weather during the week. Although I honestly never understood why some firms (including mine) are not willing to budge on the expected attire even during the summer. How business-like do I look when I get to work dripping wet looking as if someone had sprayed half of my shirt with a water gun? Don't they want me to be comfortable? Next week we will be celebrating Shavuot, the holiday of weeks which commemorates the giving of the torah as well as the harvest season. The holiday carries with it many traditions/customs. For example, many stay up studying throughout the night on Shavuot to compensate for the fact that the Jews overslept the morning of the giving of the torah. What about dairy? I think I ask this question every year. I have found several sources for this tradition ranging from: the laws of Kashrut were passed down at Har Sinai and the Jewish people did not have the opportunity to properly slaughter animals. There is also a tradition to decorate homes and synagogues with flowers for the holiday. Many say this came from the Jews having found Har SInai blooming with flowers and shrubbery. Sometimes you wonder if the crazy driving of some of these cabbies ever leads to consequences. IN traveling to and from JFK airport this week I watched both drivers get tickets. The first was subtle; the driver decided to take Queens Boulevard to save time. He tried to make it through a light as it was turning yellow. He missed. I watched the flash from the camera in the intersection go off. I know he saw it too because he turned around to see if there was a car behind him hoping, he was off the hook. There wasn't, he wasn't. On the way home from JFK my driver failed to see signs for construction and got into the wrong lane. It was late--about 1 in the morning and you would normally expect light traffic. But I knew that our lane was too light. We were the only ones in it. When he saw the cones to our left it was already too late. There was a police car in front of us and the road ahead was all chopped up. We ( the driver received a ticket) and I hoped he didn't have too many hours left on his shift because he was clearly tired and now irate. There is always a bright side--he had just saved 20% on his insurance by switching to Geico. A happy and healthy holiday to all. Later.

gt