I’m always up first, make coffee, hit the computer. I’ve got about 2 hours before I really need to get to work—which today, being my daughter’s birthday, will be to try and make it as special for her as possible. I don’t have much income producing work today as City Winery is quiet for the most part, we got a show in NYC with my friend David Broza (the Israeli Springsteen as he has been called, which will pack the joint with fellow secular Jews), but email clean-up was quick, not much from my employees, or issues coming in, or customer complaints. It’s Christmas morning after all, so the inbox was very easy to deal with. I cleaned the to-do list up yesterday, so this morning it is time to write.
It’s really cold outside. We decided to stay in Manhattan this year for the holidays, no flying to a Caribbean for some expensive beach time pretending to relax, and we are not upstate, where at least on Christmas morning I can go on a hike or chop some wood, or noodle around in the garage before everyone gets up. I’m sitting here this morning curious as to why I can’t just pick-up one of the books piled on my desk which I need to read. I got the new Bono book “Surrender”, I’ve got my friend Peter Shapiro’s “The Music never Stops”, and “The Zen of Therapy” which was recommended to me because I am either not enough zen or need therapy or something. Both are true, I’m antsy just sitting not being productive. I don’t want to read words now, I want to create them. And did I say it’s cold out, really fucking cold, so I’m not walking the dog or burning calories, but starting this Substack thing because I got a lot to say.
My daughter was born exactly 19 years ago this morning. She is even more confounded with Christmas than I am. At 19 myself, I had never known a X-mas tree, in fact, my parents did their best to shield us from the influences of Santa Claus with showering us with 8 days of gifts on C/Hanukah. We went both ways with the spelling, a “C” giving it a little more Cha, which sounds more Jewish, but the H, is much more American. The 8 day Festival of Lights was our way not to need a tree, we were different, we were taught that the 3% of of us in the world celebrated a different way and embraced it. From College to the time Sarah and I had kids, Christmas and Chanukah (now looking at the two together, perhaps its not the Cha, but the Ch to make the two holidays overlap more….hmm) was just a party, part of the holidaze. It didn’t have much meaning to me, just a season and a confusing day for a music venue— are we open or are we closed. Is this a work day or an another day off, even if not for me, for my staff. But I digress, and will try and stay focused.
Christmas morning just feels lazy, everyone is sleeping, there is no rush to see what presents might be under a tree, god forbid we had one, and the kids are too old anyway. The boys and I went out last night for Chinese food in Chinatown, a tradition that seems to be handed down though New Yorkers, but not sure. Watched some movies last night night, and Sophia the birthday girl is going to wake up again, wondering why another Jew from 2000 years ago usurped her special day. All her friends usually were gone for the parties in primary school, and she is not the only person getting presents today. Her special day is a day that most things are closed. Most people want to take off, even if they don’t celebrate. We are lucky we live in NYC, because when found ourselves in other places on this morning, nothing was open. Could not get milk or a good lunch unless preplanned. She is coming to grips with it, as all kids grow up and learn to deal with their personal challenges, but I do feel for her extra challenge. It’s cold outside, not much is stirring, not even a mouse, that kinda of thing. Where is the fireworks, the parade, the celebration of her birthday.
Well, that is now my work for the today. Maybe a scavenger hunt in the apartment which ends up linking to this article. OK, so Sophia, if you get this this line, the next clue is written on a piece of paper under the fruit bowl on the counter.
I will work to write something else on the need to get up, be productive, seize the day philosophy, which clearly is both a positive and a negative. I’m going to write some follow-up to the book I wrote and which I tried to express and articulate some business lessons from numerous mistakes running the Knitting Factory and now City Winery. I’ll try and expand on many things as I get away from Twitter’s influence of short-form to slightly longer explorations. Why not. So, I’m going to click the continue button here for the first time and figure out the next step. Until later.