April 13, 2026 - IN WITH THE OLD…OUT WITH THE NEW!
It was our 39th anniversary on Friday. We spent it circumnavigating Keuka Lake, stopping at some of our favorite haunts, including Abandoned Brewery, Dr Konstantine Frank winery and dinner at the Liberty Restaurant.
it’s been over three months since I’ve had an American fish fry. It’s not calamari, but it is mighty mighty good.
Out with the new, in with the old!
A great Sunday spent making Saint Joseph style bread with Rocco and his dad and grandma Julie
….a quiet, tender moment…thinking back on Sicily…
Ryan and Sam continue to lead the pack pulling in instruments every day that just astound me
IN WITH THE OLD…OUT WITH THE NEW!
April 13th, 2026
Good morning friends,
This past week Julie and I commuted back-and-forth to Rochester several times. It’s a long ride and at times grueling, especially on the New York State Thruway and the expressway into Rochester. We’ve been seriously considering downsizing. We’ve actually looked at a few apartments and thought of selling our beautiful house in Penn Yan! But each night we come back here and say, no we can’t leave this place. So instead, for our 39th wedding anniversary this past Friday, we went out and bought a piano! No, it’s not just an ordinary piano. It’s an 1896 Estey upright made in NYC… the same year as our house was built. It is made of highly figured wood very similar that which is in our TV room. So we got the brilliant idea of throwing the TV out and putting the piano there and playing some music while the TV resides in the closet, where it belongs. After all, television requires no intentionality…you just flip the switch…. while music requires every single bit of your attention.
Saturday at the store was an absolute delight. So many people came by to wish me welcome upon my return to America. We had a new format for the Bluegrass jam which lasted three hours in the back room. All sorts of people came from across Western New York to participate. It made me think of how important music is to humanity. Then I started to remember when I was in Sicily at the graduation celebration of my friend Mauro Amato. He is one of two sons born to his parents. His brother is an engineer in the northern part of Italy. He studied hard, works diligently and makes good money. Mauro, on the other hand, has chosen the path of music…. specifically the music of Jimi Hendrix. I remember his father looking at me and saying, "what is he going to do with Jimi Hendrix?" So this is what came into my mind. …..Some people in this world are cut out out to make money and others are cut out to make joy. Making money (entrepreneurship) certainly is it important part of our civilization. It helps advance new ideas and creates a more comfortable and safer world to live in. However , creating music (and all of the other arts) seldom creates wealth (except for the very few at the top). So I think it is justifiable that we ask those people who are making lots of money to support those who are making lots of art because without art, music, and literature there would be no humanity. So when you reach in your pocket and throw some money in a pot for a busker, or you are buying a ticket to a local concert, or you make a donation to a arts fund remember, you are keeping humanity intact.
With peace,
John Bernunzio
PS This Wednesday Julie and I will leave for Chesapeake, VA to pick up a collection of instruments and then we will be driving to Chincoteague for a little beach time.
JB
Out with the new….
…in with the old…