DISC A: VACATIONS

During the years when I wrote these pieces -- mainly the early '80s, about 30 to 35 years ago -- i was working long hours. So the occasional respites from the pressures of the office were welcome indeed -- plus which, the prospect of vacations conjured up some fertile ideas for playful essays.

1. The Tenth Reunion -- a father's weekend excursion with his teenage son, featuring some memorable moments on the tennis court.
2. Preparing for the Worst -- the precautions a prudent lawyer takes before hitting the slopes on a ski trip.
3. Take a Deep Breath -- a health-oriented vacation at a fitness spa -- and what happens when you return to civilization
4. Where's that Rainy Day? -- some ruminations from a house at the seashore -- especially when the sun fails to shine.
5. On the Road: Shampoo and Such -- a guide to what's worth snatching from the bathrooms of upscale hotels; and
6. Pilgrimage -- sightseeing in distant lands -- but with an unexpected revelation that creates an indelible impression on jaded wayfarers.

DISC B: NEGOTIATING

Negotiating deals ws what I did for a living back in the '80s and has proved to be my favorite subject for writing, lecturing, teaching, and creating instructional videos.                                          

1. Who Wants the Deal More -- examining a basic motivational key that often determines how the bargaining eventually comes out.
2. The Vegas Resolution -- an imaginative approach to getting the parties to shake off rigidity and walk that difficult last mile.
3. The Outer Limits of Principled Bargaining -- for both positional bargainers and mutual problem-solvers, a case study that suggests preferences in approach may differ according to your side of the dispute.
4. Negotiating with Nikita -- envisioning yourself in the worst spot a negotiator could find himself in -- as a prisoner trying to bargain his way out of the clutches of the KGB.

DISC C: THE REASONING MIND

Law school and legal practice honed my ability to reason and think analytically about the professional matters I found myself dealing with. But in my secondary career as an essayist, I became fascinated by questions as to whether we're using our brains to the maximum extent in other areas that don't pay the rent.

1. Eating and Having Cake -- the escape route from being trapped in an "either/or" world that forces you to elect between undesirable alternatives while preferable paths lie undetected.
2. The Skip or Switch Gambit -- solving troublesome problems by rejecting implicit assumptions, in order to discover fresh vistas and workable solutions.
3. Decision-Making -- examining the anatomy of a simple decision in order to extract crucial considerations applicable to seizing an opportunity, resolving a problem, or charting a course of action.
4. The Consequences of Inaction -- exploring a second layer of decisional analysis that's often ignored or treated subliminally -- an initial assessment as to the results of not taking a certain contemplated action.
5. Balls in the Air -- deciding how to address the plethora of demands on your attention, in terms of accomplishment, enjoyment and setting priorities.

DISC D: INTERACTING WITH OTHERS

Much of our energies are devoted to dealing with other people. But although this was a subject at the forefront of legal practice, I found that many lawyers became so involved in substantive problems that they often short-changed the communication. The five essays examine various aspects of inter-personal dealings.

1. Gaining Perspective -- both on ourselves (because we first have to understand what we're up to) and then on others with whom we deal.
2. On Being Misunderstood -- something we permit to happen when our words or actions are unclear, which results in ambiguity, from which unintended inferences are drawn.
3. Everyday Dilemmas -- facing up to some of the unappetizing alternatives in our everyday relations with friends and acquaintances.
4. Ode to Embelishment -- which attempts to draw the line between taking a few liberties with the literal truth and crossing over into forbidden territory.
5. Bores -- scrutinizing those omnipresent tiresome individuals, while posing the troubling question: Are we part of the problem?

DISC E: PIGGYBACKING ON MEMORABLE               ADVICE

I've assembled a half-dozen essays where I extrapolated on advice, theories, and shtick emanating from others -- trying to put to good use in our world what was being displayed or touted in theirs.

1. Some Good Advice -- is a collection of aphorisms worth heeding, culled from a book by William Safire and his brother, with a number of my own exhortations sprinkled in along the way.
2. Through the Looking Glass -- is dedicated to that virtuoso of whimsy, Lewis Carroll, whose magical words can serve as epigraphs for any number of familiar situations.
3. One-Upmanship -- is a tribute to Stephen Potter, whose unique observations from another time are as relevant as ever today for those looking to gain an advantage.
4. Silent Standards -- is designed to help us become aware of the unvoiced expectations that affect our perceptions and work, as neatly distilled in Ogden Nash's classic poem on sins of omission.
5. Never Assume a Damn Thing! -- is my attempt to illustrate the truth of that maxim by analyzing in detail one of the funniest Abbott and Castello routines.
6. Save Me a Good Spot -- is an unconventional look at memory, sparked by the singular theory of my late friend Sherwin Kamin.