REICH COMMUNICATIONS

The Question of the Season

 

Here's something I posted three years ago, but I feel it's worth repeating at this time of year, especially this year as we could use a little smile and spiritual uplift. 

I hope you enjoy it.  

    ....

My daughter Jennifer was taking her older son Jack, 10, to school recently and, as he got out of the car, he asked a question that worries many parents at this time of year.  His question -- "Is Santa real?"

Jen didn't have a simple answer, so she said it was complicated and she'd tell him when he got home from school.  She thought about it and wrote down her thoughts in a beautiful letter that I'm sharing below, with Jen's permission.

An interesting side note... Jen is Jewish and her husband Jon is Christian.  The boys, Jack and his brother Gabriel, 6, are being raised with traditions from both faiths.  Not necessarily the religious dogma, but traditions like lighting the menorah on Chanukah, having matzoh for Passover and, of course, at this time of year decorating the Christmas tree and waiting for Santa.

I am so proud of my daughter for expressing her thoughts so beautifully and helping keep alive a beautiful tradition that makes this time of year magical for so many people -- especially children.  Wouldn't it be nice if in this way we could all retain our inner child?

Here's Jen's note to my grandson Jack...

Dear Jack,

You asked a really good question earlier and I didn’t have time to answer it then. It is a question I knew was coming sooner than later, and I had a feeling it might come around this Christmas. It is a question that parents all over the word have to face at some time, and it is bittersweet. So I came home and gave it some serious thought and here is my answer to your question, “Is Santa real?”

Yes and no. Your image of Santa, as a big, fat, jolly man in a red suit and a beard, flying all over the world in s sleigh, is not real. You are a smart kid and you probably have questioned for some time how that could be possible. The presents under the tree that are from Santa are in fact from Daddy and I, and we fill the stockings too. After you and your brother go to sleep on Christmas Eve, Daddy and I are hard at work, sneaking quietly to make Christmas magical- just like Grammy and Poppy did for Daddy, and their parents did for them.

And that is where the other part of the answer comes in- Santa may not be real in the way you thought, but the spirit of him is a real part of Christmas. The story of Santa has been around for hundreds of years and the magic his story creates for children is a beautiful thing. And for adults too! I know that Santa is not real in an actual sense, but I still believe in his spirit as a grown up. I still feel the beauty and magic and love on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, even though I know the truth. And I hope you will too.

Santa teaches love and magic, and hope and happiness. He creates the ability to believe that anything is possible, that there are miracles in the world, and that giving to others freely is the surest way to fill your heart- and theirs- with joy.

So while now you may know that Santa himself isn’t sneaking down our chimney at night, I sincerely hope that you can still believe in the magic and beauty of his story. I hope that Christmas still feels special for you and that one day, you will make the Santa story come alive for your own children.

Learning about Santa is a big step in growing up. I have to admit, I shed a tear or two writing this as there is a certain part of childhood you are leaving behind. But here is the neat thing: you now get to be a creator of this magic, a helper, and elf, if you will. It is important to let each child realize the Santa story on their own, or the magic can be ruined. You are now a guardian of Santa- like Daddy and I have been for you. You must keep his story alive for those that still believe, like your brother and your friends. It is a really big responsibility but one that you must take seriously. You can now help spread the love and the belief in miracles and the magic of Santa- you are now on his team, as Daddy and I have been for all the Christmas mornings you can remember. Welcome.

You may have more questions, and I am happy to answer them. Or you may just need to let this sit for a while. Just know that while the Santa you see at the mall surely is not real, the love and generosity and spirit of kindness and giving that he instills in people is very real and very important. Be sure to carry the Santa story with you in your heart forever.

With love and respect, as you grow up--

Mama

Here's something I posted three years ago, but I feel it's worth repeating at this time of year, especially this year as we could use a little smile and spiritual uplift. 

I hope you enjoy it.  

    ....

My daughter Jennifer was taking her older son Jack, 10, to school recently and, as he got out of the car, he asked a question that worries many parents at this time of year.  His question -- "Is Santa real?"

Jen didn't have a simple answer, so she said it was complicated and she'd tell him when he got home from school.  She thought about it and wrote down her thoughts in a beautiful letter that I'm sharing below, with Jen's permission.

An interesting side note... Jen is Jewish and her husband Jon is Christian.  The boys, Jack and his brother Gabriel, 6, are being raised with traditions from both faiths.  Not necessarily the religious dogma, but traditions like lighting the menorah on Chanukah, having matzoh for Passover and, of course, at this time of year decorating the Christmas tree and waiting for Santa.

I am so proud of my daughter for expressing her thoughts so beautifully and helping keep alive a beautiful tradition that makes this time of year magical for so many people -- especially children.  Wouldn't it be nice if in this way we could all retain our inner child?

Here's Jen's note to my grandson Jack...

Dear Jack,

You asked a really good question earlier and I didn’t have time to answer it then. It is a question I knew was coming sooner than later, and I had a feeling it might come around this Christmas. It is a question that parents all over the word have to face at some time, and it is bittersweet. So I came home and gave it some serious thought and here is my answer to your question, “Is Santa real?”

Yes and no. Your image of Santa, as a big, fat, jolly man in a red suit and a beard, flying all over the world in s sleigh, is not real. You are a smart kid and you probably have questioned for some time how that could be possible. The presents under the tree that are from Santa are in fact from Daddy and I, and we fill the stockings too. After you and your brother go to sleep on Christmas Eve, Daddy and I are hard at work, sneaking quietly to make Christmas magical- just like Grammy and Poppy did for Daddy, and their parents did for them.

And that is where the other part of the answer comes in- Santa may not be real in the way you thought, but the spirit of him is a real part of Christmas. The story of Santa has been around for hundreds of years and the magic his story creates for children is a beautiful thing. And for adults too! I know that Santa is not real in an actual sense, but I still believe in his spirit as a grown up. I still feel the beauty and magic and love on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, even though I know the truth. And I hope you will too.

Santa teaches love and magic, and hope and happiness. He creates the ability to believe that anything is possible, that there are miracles in the world, and that giving to others freely is the surest way to fill your heart- and theirs- with joy.

So while now you may know that Santa himself isn’t sneaking down our chimney at night, I sincerely hope that you can still believe in the magic and beauty of his story. I hope that Christmas still feels special for you and that one day, you will make the Santa story come alive for your own children.

Learning about Santa is a big step in growing up. I have to admit, I shed a tear or two writing this as there is a certain part of childhood you are leaving behind. But here is the neat thing: you now get to be a creator of this magic, a helper, and elf, if you will. It is important to let each child realize the Santa story on their own, or the magic can be ruined. You are now a guardian of Santa- like Daddy and I have been for you. You must keep his story alive for those that still believe, like your brother and your friends. It is a really big responsibility but one that you must take seriously. You can now help spread the love and the belief in miracles and the magic of Santa- you are now on his team, as Daddy and I have been for all the Christmas mornings you can remember. Welcome.

You may have more questions, and I am happy to answer them. Or you may just need to let this sit for a while. Just know that while the Santa you see at the mall surely is not real, the love and generosity and spirit of kindness and giving that he instills in people is very real and very important. Be sure to carry the Santa story with you in your heart forever.

With love and respect, as you grow up--

Mama

My daughter Jennifer was taking her older son Jack, 10, to school recently and, as he got out of the car, he asked a question that worries many parents at this time of year.  His question -- "Is Santa real?"

Jen didn't have a simple answer, so she said it was complicated and she'd tell him when he got home from school.  She thought about it and wrote down her thoughts in a beautiful letter that I'm sharing below, with Jen's permission.

An interesting side note... Jen is Jewish and her husband Jon is Christian.  The boys, Jack and his brother Gabriel, 6, are being raised with traditions from both faiths.  Not necessarily the religious dogma, but traditions like lighting the menorah on Chanukah, having matzoh for Passover and, of course, at this time of year decorating the Christmas tree and waiting for Santa.

I am so proud of my daughter for expressing her thoughts so beautifully and helping keep alive a beautiful tradition that makes this time of year magical for so many people -- especially children.  Wouldn't it be nice if in this way we could all retain our inner child?

Here's Jen's note to my grandson Jack...

Dear Jack,

You asked a really good question earlier and I didn’t have time to answer it then. It is a question I knew was coming sooner than later, and I had a feeling it might come around this Christmas. It is a question that parents all over the word have to face at some time, and it is bittersweet. So I came home and gave it some serious thought and here is my answer to your question, “Is Santa real?”

Yes and no. Your image of Santa, as a big, fat, jolly man in a red suit and a beard, flying all over the world in s sleigh, is not real. You are a smart kid and you probably have questioned for some time how that could be possible. The presents under the tree that are from Santa are in fact from Daddy and I, and we fill the stockings too. After you and your brother go to sleep on Christmas Eve, Daddy and I are hard at work, sneaking quietly to make Christmas magical- just like Grammy and Poppy did for Daddy, and their parents did for them.

And that is where the other part of the answer comes in- Santa may not be real in the way you thought, but the spirit of him is a real part of Christmas. The story of Santa has been around for hundreds of years and the magic his story creates for children is a beautiful thing. And for adults too! I know that Santa is not real in an actual sense, but I still believe in his spirit as a grown up. I still feel the beauty and magic and love on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, even though I know the truth. And I hope you will too.

Santa teaches love and magic, and hope and happiness. He creates the ability to believe that anything is possible, that there are miracles in the world, and that giving to others freely is the surest way to fill your heart- and theirs- with joy.

So while now you may know that Santa himself isn’t sneaking down our chimney at night, I sincerely hope that you can still believe in the magic and beauty of his story. I hope that Christmas still feels special for you and that one day, you will make the Santa story come alive for your own children.

Learning about Santa is a big step in growing up. I have to admit, I shed a tear or two writing this as there is a certain part of childhood you are leaving behind. But here is the neat thing: you now get to be a creator of this magic, a helper, and elf, if you will. It is important to let each child realize the Santa story on their own, or the magic can be ruined. You are now a guardian of Santa- like Daddy and I have been for you. You must keep his story alive for those that still believe, like your brother and your friends. It is a really big responsibility but one that you must take seriously. You can now help spread the love and the belief in miracles and the magic of Santa- you are now on his team, as Daddy and I have been for all the Christmas mornings you can remember. Welcome.

You may have more questions, and I am happy to answer them. Or you may just need to let this sit for a while. Just know that while the Santa you see at the mall surely is not real, the love and generosity and spirit of kindness and giving that he instills in people is very real and very important. Be sure to carry the Santa story with you in your heart forever.

With love and respect, as you grow up--

Mama

It's Winter in New York

                       Welcome to winter... and 60 degrees outside. 

Bagels ... Good Tastes and Good Memories

 

Thanks to my friend Toby Bloomberg in Atlanta, I'm reminded that today is National Bagel Day.  In her Facebook post, she asked what goes best on a bagel.  My preference ... lox, cream cheese, some onion and maybe a thin slice of tomato.  I also like scallion cream cheese, or on a plain or salt bagel, just some butter melted in if the bagel is hot.

I also told Toby I like New York bagels best, with Montreal bagels a close second.  The Montreal pick is thanks to Mark Goren, who I met at the Blogger Social 11 years ago.  We got into a debate about bagels and he brought me some fresh bagels from his hometown on a subsequent trip to New York.  The bagels he brought were very convincing.

When I was young, bagels were pretty much a Jewish food, found mainly in cities were many Jews lived.  Even back then, New Yorkers were kind of snobbish about our bagels being the best.  "Its the water" was the common reason given.

Bagels, like pizza and tacos, have moved beyond their ethnic roots and are now American food, available almost everywhere.  Thanks to a baker in New Haven, who came up with the idea of selling frozen bagels, Lenders and others are now commonplace in supermarkets pretty much throughout the U.S.  Do they stand the taste test against real bagels?  Not even close.

And thanks to modern technology and franchising, locally-made bagels are found just about everywhere.  Taste-wise, though, it's hit or miss -- mostly miss.  Even chains with Jewish-sounding names like Einstein's and Bruegger's or New York Bagel just don't make it.

I've tried bagels in other places with big Jewish populations and most of the time I've been disappointed.  I haven't yet found great bagels in Chicago. L.A., Baltimore, Atlanta (sorry Toby) nor points east, west, north or south.

Even here in New York, it's not a slam-dunk when you buy a bagel.  Most deli and bodega bagels seem like plain white bread with a hole in the middle.  You have to know where to go for a real good New York bagels -- even here in New York.  Ess-a-Bagel on 21st and 1st and also on 3rd and 51st are among the best.  Zabar's and Zaro's are pretty good.  H&H, if it's still around, was also great.

The best bagels EVER may be tainted by memory, since I haven't had one for more than 45 or 50 years.  There was a bagel bakery under the Jerome Avenue el in the Bronx, just above Mosholu Parkway.  They made bagels that were distributed to other bakeries and restaurants throughout the Bronx and Westchester and maybe also into Manhattan.  And they also sold them to walk-in customers.

Back in the mid-1960s, I would go down to the Bronx many Saturday nights to pick up fresh, hot bagels to bring home for breakfast the next morning.  I'd usually head down around 10 p.m. with my friend Tommy Larkin.  Tommy had a beat-up old 1950 Ford that someone had given him and he was constantly working on it. The floorboards had rusted through, so you could see the pavement moving by under your feet.  For a few weeks while he was restoring the seats, we sat on milk crates, hanging on for dear life every time he made a turn.  And I don't think the heater ever worked in that car.

We'd freeze our tushes off on the way down to the Bronx.  When we'd get back in the car, each of us with a bag filled with a baker's dozen of steaming hot bagels right out of the factory, we'd open the bags to have a bagel on the ride home.  And the steam from those bagels would fog the inside windows and keep us warm for the ride home.  And the smell.... heaven!

There was nothing like those Bronx bagels and, for me, there probably never will be.

What We Do: Drive Safe Los Angeles

Just finished a few days at the Los Angeles Auto Show, exhibiting for The National Road Safety Foundation.  

We had a chance to speak with hundreds of parents and teens about driving safety and gave them good info about safe driving behavior.  We also debuted the winner of the Drive Safe L.A. PSA contest.  Click here to see the 30-second spot.

Looking forward to coming back next November.  Our next auto show project will be at the Chicago Auto Show in February.  Brrr!

 

Who's Listening?

 

Americans spend nearly four hours a day listening to some form of audio, according to a study reported recently in The Wall Street Journal.

The bulk of audio time – 50 percent -- comes from traditional broadcast radio stations, both AM and FM.  Nearly tied as the second and third most popular sources are streaming (16 percent) and personally-owned music (14 percent), from CDs, downloaded music and even records. 

Following distantly is satellite radio – SiriusXM – at eight percent despite the fact that virtually every new car these days comes with a 3-month free trial.  SiriusXM is costly, so they probably lose many listeners once the free trial period expires.

And then there’s podcasts, today accounting for about four percent of listening.   But the relatively small portion of total listening time doesn’t give the full podcast picture.  About 26 percent of Americans listen to a podcast at least once a month – twice what it was only five years ago.  That’s about 73 million people ages 12 and up. 

What I find interesting is which podcast publishers today have the biggest audience.  Not the networks.  Not Spotify or Pandora.  NPR (National Public Radio) has the biggest podcast audience, with almost 19 million unique listeners every month.  iHeart Radio is second, with 14 million monthly listeners.  Two public radio programmers -  This American Life and PRX – have 9.9 and 7.2 million listeners.

The New York Times is at #6, with 7 million listeners for its daily news and analysis podcasts, followed by New York’s public radio station WNYC, with 6.6 million.

Podcasts often are supported, in part at least, by ads.  Podcast ad revenue this year is expected to hit $400 million, up from about $260 million last year.   Analysts expect it to exceed $600 million by 2020.

The big streamers Spotify and Pandora do carry podcasts, but they haven’t yet been a significant revenue stream for them.  Spotify carries about 150,000 podcasts and Pandora has a few hundred.  They say listening time for podcasts on their platforms represents less than one percent of their total listening time.

But that will likely change in the next few years, as the big streaming services see the potential and want a big piece of the anticipated growth in podcast ad revenues.  Their goal, says The Wall Street Journal, is to take more listeners – and more revenues – from broadcast radio.  The radio broadcasters don’t want to lose any share, but with total annual ad revenues of $14 billion, they’re hardly panicking.   

 

Going to Pot

TV news this morning showed long lines of people in the rain as they waited for the first legal recreational marijuana shops to open in Massachusetts, the latest state to make recreational pot legal.  It's the first state east of the Mississippi that's gone legal, although several more are expected to follow in the coming years.

As a child of the '60s, I sometimes wonder why it's taken so long.  Back in the day, it seemed like the majority of young people smoked pot.  Many of us thought as our generation became adults and took the reigns of power in business and in politics, pot would eventually become legal.  We knew it wouldn't be overnight, but nearly 50 years?

In grad school, I wrote a paper on how the big tobacco companies would market pot once it became legal, and I recall some research that showed Big Tobacco already had taken copyrights on brand names like Acapulco Gold.  Back then, experts were saying pot would be legal in about ten years.

Two years ago, while in Seattle on business, I walked past a pot store.  Curious, I went inside, expecting to walk into a dark and smoky den.  Instead, it was brightly lit with beautiful displays and counter and after counter of cannabis products and related paraphernalia.  The saleswoman, nicely dressed, could tell I was overwhelmed and asked what kind of high I was looking for.

What kind of high?  Huh?

She explained there were products that would relax me, make me feel wide awake, give me the munchies and lots of other types of effects.  I bought a chocolate bar that was supposed to make me feel mellow.  I ate it and... nothing.

But that shopping experience was a far cry from the days when your retailer was a friend of a friend, and you never knew what to expect when you took a toke.

Adweek recently devoted an entire issue to what it called "Flower Power."  The cannabis industry is expected to grow to some $200 billion.  I'm not sure if R.J. Reynolds or whatever else remains of the big tobacco companies have any holdings in cannabis companies, but Constellation Brands, which has Corona and Modello among the beer brands it imports, recently offered $4 billion to buy Canopy Growth, a Canadian cannabis producer that is the world's largest, producing mainly medical marijuana at this point. Clearly, Constellation sees some real potential in the marketplace. 

I did some publicity about two years ago for a guy who wrote a book called Pot Luck that explained and extolled the benefits of medical marijuana.  It was a good read and did a good job explaining how herbal alternatives including cannabis often -- but not always -- offered relief or cures where traditional medicine didn't.

As someone who works in the traffic safety field, I am also seeing evidence of more crashes in states where pot has become legal.  Unlike when you're drunk, you can be high and still manage -- or think you're managing -- to drive safely.  But reaction time is slowed and if something happens quickly on the road, a high driver -- an impaired driver -- may have a problem.

So I think that, along with legalization, should come a public education campaign to make drivers aware of the dangers of driving while high.  We've done it for alcohol over he years, so why not help people understand the risks of driving while high.  It can help those who want to indulge do it safely, without putting everyone else on the road at risk.

 

 

What We Do: Traffic Safety

Here's the latest issue of "Road Buzz," the newsletter I write for The National Road Safety Foundation.

 

It highlights many of the projects I work on for the Foundation, including a new partnership we developed with the NY State PTA for a poster contest for grade-school kids to focus on pedestrian safety.  Our winner, Hannah Jung, will be introduced tomorrow night at the school board meeting in Jericho, Long Island, where I'll present a $1,500 check in her name to her school's PTA.

We also just launched the eighth annual Drive2Life PSA Contest, which invites teens nationwide to submit their ideas for a 30-second TV spot about the dangers of drowsy driving, which is a factor in 328,000 crashes every year that kill more than 5,000 people.  We run this contest in partnership with Scholastic.

For more, check out the Foundation's site at www.nrsf.org 

Maybe it's time for the real news media to focus on real news

 

We have a president who continues to be out of control when it comes to the media.

What politician wouldn’t hope for the media to report only good news about what he’s doing?  But any politician who has an adult’s understanding of how the media work in a democracy and why they seek to find what’s behind a politician’s words and actions knows – and must accept – the fact that what the media say may not always be what you’d like them to say.

But the current president continues to slam the media and use the phrase “enemy of the people” to try to convince people not to believe what they report.  In his view, the only media outlet worth listening to is what’s become the White House organ -- FOX News, which to any viewer with their eyes and minds open can plainly see is just a shill for the president.  It's what, in a dictatorship, would be State News.

The dust-up in yesterday’s White House news conference is yet another example of a president off the rails and trying to use the bully pulpit of his office to control or censor the free press.  Name-calling some reporters, including calling a black reporter a racist, and then trying to shut up CNN’s Jim Acosta by having an aide physically try to pull the microphone out of his hands is simply going too far.  The subsequent banning of Acosta from the White House because he accosted the White House aide is bogus.  If you look at the video, the aide is clearly seen trying to grab the mic out of Acosta’s hand and, without touching her, he pulled the mic out of her reach.  If anything, she physically attacked him.

Here’s what I’d love to see.  The major media should agree, as a group, to not cover presidential news conferences. Have one pool reporter there to represent them all, just in case some real news comes out.  And if there is no real news to report that day, then there’s no coverage of the president that day.  No reporting about whatever crazy things he says on Twitter, no coverage of whatever name-calling he sink to.  We’ve seen too many times how his words are meaningless, contradictory or outright lies, so why cover it?

Instead, a presidential news blackout, for at least a day.

Leave coverage of the childish name-calling and unwanted presidential opinions on irrelevant things ranging from a TV show's ratings to whether or not he likes a particular singer or sports team or celebrity who may have been critical of him to FOX and the gossip media.  Let the real news media get back to covering real news, which often legitimately does not and should not include the president’s take on things.  We’ve seen too many times how his words are meaningless, contradictory or outright lies.

It’s time to focus back on the real news of the day.

What We Do: Vision Zero Cites Conference

 

Some 350 leading traffic safety experts, advocates, elected officials and members of the public from across the nation and around the world are meeting at Columbia University’s Lerner Hall today, Nov. 7, to share best practices for preventing traffic deaths and injuries.  It's the fourth Vision Zero Cities conference, presented by Transportation Alternatives. 

 

I'm proud to say I've been invited to be part of a panel, talking about ways to get young people involved in traffic safety messaging.  I'll be talking about our work for The National Road Safety Foundation, which sponsors several contests that encourage young people to create messages about teen driving issues like distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding and drowsy driving.  We'll explain how we've developed partnerships with youth advocacy groups, schools and media to get kids involved in the important work of saving lives on our roads.

 

Vision Zero is a multi-national traffic safety project that aims to achieve a highway system with no fatalities or serious injuries.  It started in Sweden 20 years ago and is now in dozens of American cities including New York.

'Nuf said....