Profits & Passions
Les Satz
Balancing act
By KATHY KAHN

Les Satz outside L.L. Bean's flagship store in Freeport, Maine, where he makes a yearly pilgrimage.

Les Satz is a man of discipline. It stands to reason he would be; his profession, certified public accountant, demands no debit and credit column remain unchecked. Twice. At least.

Queens-born, but Rockland-rooted, Satz lately has been making the daily trek from his Spring Valley home of 29 years to Manhattan’s epicenter, Rockefeller Center. His commute got a lot longer two years ago when his company, A.C. Israel Enterprises, decided to move from White Plains to Manhattan. Satz has been with the company more than three decades. When it originally decided to move from Manhattan to Westchester, Satz was elated. When owners decided to reclaim their Manhattan address two years ago, Satz resigned himself to changing his sleeping pattern, but not much else.

The company relocation did not deter Satz from sticking to his daily routine, only his day now starts at 4 a.m. He makes the drive from Spring Valley to White Plains, where he works out five mornings a week at the New York Sports Club. After a regimen of weight-lifting and cardio exercise, he heads for the showers and dons his official daywear, trading sweats for traditional suit and tie. Then it’s off to Metro-North and to the work-world races until it’s quitting time. At 5:30 p.m., it’s the commuter crush back to White Plains and back over the Tappan Zee Bridge, arriving home around 7 p.m. ­ on a good day. “Unless it’s tax season,” he says. “Then it could be 10 p.m.”

Satz shrugs off the long commute, saying it has made his days longer, but hasn’t deterred his outside activities, which focus (pun intended) on photographing the great outdoors as well as embracing them. Hunting, fishing, hiking, camping and scuba diving are part of Satz’s weekend-warrior repertoire. His camera bag is along for the ride. He takes vacations “as much as possible,” traveling the country with his wife, Sue, two cameras, whatever gear the weather requires and an ample supply of exuberance.

Alaska ­ certainly. Las Vegas ­ why not? Florida ­ count him in. And Maine ­ ah, wilderness! These are some of Satz’s favorite destinations. Last month, he and his family gathered at one of their must-stomp stomping grounds: Freeport, Maine, where L.L. Bean’s signature store is a must-visit for fresh-air fiends.

Unlike many Baby Boomer couples, Mr. and Mrs. Satz are not planning to leave New York or their Spring Valley home for a turnkey Miami condo. Ironically, it is their three grown children who have packed up and moved to Florida and the parents who are visiting the children in the Sunshine State.

Satz has started watching his diet, sitting down these days to a wild turkey dinner. Yes, he put his own turkey on the table. He has given up beef in favor of venison, which isn’t hard for the avid hunter to do. “It’s healthier, tastier and better for your body,” he says. But Satz doesn’t try to convince those who don’t want to partake of Bambi. He hopes venison and bison will eventually be accepted as American staples, much like sushi and kiwis have moved onto our plates in the last decade.

Satz is still in “down time” because tax season 2008 doesn’t really start keeping accountants chained to their desks until mid-February, “where you can pretty much expect to work a 16-hour day right up until midnight, April 15.” On top of his regular job, he also does personal tax returns and some business returns. “And I still make it to the gym every morning,” says the methodical man of mathematics.

How does he manage to do it all? “Satz life,” grins the accountant in a riff on “that’s life.” He just happens to have this personal motto emblazoned on his license plate. There’ll be no mistaking Les Satz on the highway or in the wilderness. “I take each day as it comes,” says the Mickey Mantle fan. Like slugger Mantle, Satz plans to make it to the Hall of Fame, albeit to the Accounting Hall of Fame, simply by virtue of his dedication to balancing work and play.

 

 

 

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