September 14th, 2026

Dear Friends,

       Julie and I certainly are a strange couple. We do things that are often looked at "half assed". We have always gone to places that people don’t usually visit. We have always gone against the flow. We moved to Penn Yan six years ago on a whim and we like it, but we don’t spend very much time there. I commute back-and-forth to Rochester several days a week. It’s been a point of contention between us…. Julie ends up staying in Rochester at her mom’s house visiting and I end up staying in Penn Yan at our house….by myself. Recently, a house popped up for sale. Of all places, it was on Penfield Road, not far from where we first lived together forty years ago. We made arrangements to inspect it and we asked ourselves "do we want to move from Penn Yan?"  It would be so much more convenient if we lived close to our children and close to where we work. Fortunately or unfortunately, the house turned out to be a dud. With the keen eye of my brother Tom we were able to determine that it needed a new roof, gutters and perhaps much, much more. There is a leak in the roof under the deck and the only way to fix it would be to remove the entire deck which is one of the most beautiful appointments of the entire property. It was just not the kind of thing we were up for doing. But the lure still exists to move back closer to family, to be in a place that has more cultural activities and music and restaurants, but there’s also the peaceful side of Penn Yan that keeps holding us back…the fact that we know our neighbors, and I can go anywhere around the village and to all of my favorite establishments on my scooter. 

    So this past weekend, I decided to clear my mind of everything and take some time with my son, Benjamin. We went fishing down in Branchport, New York. To tell you the truth, it was the worst fishing we have ever experienced. Keuka Lake was rainy with 25 mile per hour winds and high waves the entire day on Saturday. On Sunday it was peaceful and glossy and beautiful, but the fish were not cooperating. But that’s the thing about fishing. It’s not really about catching the fish. It is the oneness with nature, the camaraderie with my son, the peace in the valley…. and it was at that moment that I realized we had made the right decision.

   I had to bring Benjamin back to Rochester on Sunday afternoon and then turn right back around and drive down to Penn Yan… over 110 miles nearly 2-1/2 hours of driving, but I didn’t seem to mind it at all…. For some reason, I turned the radio on and blasted the music of Michael Jackson on a playlist, and I blasted it all the way home, recalling what a great genius he was. And when I reached Yates County, everything seemed to be a bit greener and a bit clearer and a bit more colorful than it had when I left. When I got home Julie and I sat down to talk about putting it really beautiful deck and remodeling the downstairs bathroom to equip the house for our future here…

With peace,

John Bernunzio.

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