Long Island Vitruvius

Long Island Vitruvius

As those of you who know me know, I love Long Island. Sure, the wineries and beaches all play a part of my romance, but what I love most about Long Island are the people (well, at least some of them). And in my professional capacity (that of lawyer, not the one of food and wine Epicurean) I am lucky to have met and built relationships with some very remarkable people – people who are so talented that they could

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Making Headlines

Making Headlines

Making Headlines – This week I appeared on Long Island News Radio (103.9 FM) with my good friend Jay Oliver where we discussed several news items in the headlines. I have included the full interview below for your listening pleasure. Highlights include: Food & Fun – Jay and I recapping the incredibly fun dinner we had at Trattoria Romana in Boca Raton last week. Joined by his lovely wife, we ate, drank, and were merry for many hours. Abortion – we discussed the recent moves by Alabama and other states to

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Order and Chaos

Order and Chaos

Order and Chaos – One of my favorite movies is “Six Degrees of Separation,” a 1993 comedy/drama starring Stockard Channing, Will Smith, and Donald Sutherland. I watched it again recently, and found myself paying attention to the scene where the trio of actors discuss a two-sided painting by Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian painter credited as the pioneer of abstract art. On one side, the Kandinsky had a wild and vivid depiction while the other side contained a somber and geometric scene. Sutherland

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My Sordid Love Affair

My Sordid Love Affair

My Sordid Love Affair – I must make a confession: I have been engaged in a sordid love affair for quite some time. Like all affairs, thoughts about my paramour consume my mind, and I find myself rushing from work like a young schoolboy so that we can be together. Once together, we connect in the most intimate of ways, causing my mind to wander to scenes of the most exotic places on earth. My lover, of course, is wine. For some,

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On Leadership and Ownership

On Leadership and Ownership

            On Leadership and Ownership – It’s great to be back after taking some much-needed personal time off from blogging. The new year is always an energizing time for me, so kicking off 2019 by presenting “Leading Your Business the Marine Corps Way” at our CMM Business Breakfast on January 15 was wonderful. This talk is personal for me, as this year’s theme at CMM is leadership and ownership (something I wish our elected officials

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On Remembrance

On Remembrance

On Remembrance – This past week has been one of remembrance. On November 6, I unexpectedly lost my beloved dad, Joe Campolo, Sr., at age 73. He played an integral role in both my personal and professional lives, having also served as the long-time Controller of CMM since its founding, known affectionately around the office as “Mr. C.” On behalf of my mother, my grandmother, my sisters, and myself, thank you for the outpouring of support we have received. It

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Her Majesty of the Law

Her Majesty of the Law

Her Majesty of the Law.  It is rare, particularly in today’s world, to find a person who possesses and uses their superior intellect to achieve world-renowned fame, and then readily and unceremoniously gives it all up for love.  Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is one of these very special people. O’Connor’s story is quite remarkable. Born in El Paso, she was raised in Arizona on the Lazy B Ranch, a 250-square mile plot of desert along the New Mexico border. She grew up and

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A Supreme Failure

A Supreme Failure

A Supreme Failure – The confirmation process of now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and the claim of sexual misconduct against him by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, forced the American people to face a real and terrible dilemma, as the parties involved were two very accomplished, credible people telling totally different stories, with neither of them being able to offer any corroborating or exculpatory evidence. This created a heart-wrenching scenario; if she was innocently mistaken about his identity then Justice Kavanaugh has been subjected to

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Naked and Afraid

Naked and Afraid

Naked and Afraid – Like many, I took some time off around the Labor Day holiday to recharge. For me, that entails being a couch potato and finding the most mindless stuff possible to binge-watch. This time around, the remote landed on Naked and Afraid, a reality show on the Discovery Channel where a man and a woman (who don’t know each other) agree to be dropped off together in a remote part of the world, totally naked, and try

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Reflecting on Labor Day

Reflecting on Labor Day

On Celebrating Labor – Labor Day seems to be the most misunderstood of our national holidays, and thus never seems to get the respect it deserves. To me, Labor Day was always just a long weekend marking the unofficial end of summer, a day I celebrated with family and friends in our backyards, drinking sangria and lamenting about how fast another summer had flown by. But a closer look at the origins of Labor Day, and the people who have

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