Viewpoint Essays by Brian Cole

Stumbled on this quote recently and it started me thinking. (Hey, living by myself with my social life somewhere between dramatically reduced and non-existent, I have plenty of time for thinking.) “The children now love luxury; they have contempt for authority and love chatter in place of exercise. They contradict… Read more »

I live by myself so after completing my self-imposed honey-do lists, getting in my exercising, of course, and adapting to this new routine of no routine, it was time to broaden my mind. I have a column due, an admitted preoccupation with current events (I’m not allowed to mention), so I… Read more »

I enjoy the opportunity to express my thoughts in these “Viewpoint” columns. A lot of good discussions with readers, clients and friends have been generated. Exchanging different Viewpoints is something I value and appreciate. I learn so much when the Viewpoints are different from mine and conversely, I learn nothing if we’re already like minded. Much of… Read more »

Oyster Pointer: We know you’ve done some fundraisers before, but what are you planning now? Mont Blanc. It’s the most spectacular mountain in the Alps, the highest peak (15,774 feet) in Europe. But unlike my climbs of Kilimanjaro in Africa (19,351 feet), this challenge is a bit different. In what… Read more »

The information questionnaire before I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro a few years ago asked what seemed a very strange question: “Are you claustrophobic?” Huh? I’m accepting the challenge of attempting to climb 19,351 feet, the highest mountain on the continent of Africa and the tallest free-standing mountain on our planet. Why… Read more »

For Perspective: (please read slowly) because while we hear these terms used frequently, the difference is A Million if measured in seconds = 11.5 days A Billion for comparison = 31.5 years Some of what is known (so far). Our sun, the source of energy, is one million times larger… Read more »

In my life there have been plenty of times I’ve had to be decisive. No room for wishy-washy gray area indecision. Leadership requires being sure of oneself, taking charge and acting with strong, certain confidence. When that is needed, there’s no substitute. “To be or not to be…” was insightfully… Read more »

Relax. This is not my regular To Your Health column so no exercise recommendations today. At least for the rest of 2019, I’ll be alternating this Viewpoint column monthly with the To Your Health one I’ve been writing for years. April 2019, about my horse Major, was my first and… Read more »

We found him at a horse barn in Suffolk. There were about 25 horses all waiting to be fed. The feed buckets were hung along the fence about 10 feet apart, and the horses were then let in to eat. They all knew which was theirs and started eating. The… Read more »