January 1st, 2024

Happy New Year Folks,

    The year ahead is a long road….not only having 366 days (yes, this is a leap year) but also many turns, curves, twists and adventures…like the road pictured above. Traditionally, we use the first day of the year to look back on the past year but instead I am using this day to look forward. I have a feeling 2024 will be the most interesting year of my life. No, I’m not going to list any New Year’s resolutions….they are never lasting. I’m not making any huge life changes….I’m not moving to another house….but I plan to keep on moving…to stay "in motion". To that end, there are three words that keep rattling over my head on this first day of the year. These words have been tossed around in most major religious movements. These three words are often used in Christianity but every culture and religion uses these three words as a mantra for suggesting a way to a better and more fulfilling life. They certainly are not owned by any one religion or sect. Those words are the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIGHT(and sometimes the LIFE). No, I’ve not had any dramatic religious conversion, but I know that these words are the direction that I have always been seeking. The “WAY" is the path we follow in our daily life, how we interact with each other and the direction our life heads. As for "TRUTH" that has always been a personal struggle….what is truth and what is relative truth? I plan on living this year TRUE to myself….true to who I am. But I also plan to work hard to understand what is truth and what is not. In today’s society that is a very difficult undertaking. This brings us to the last of the three words of my mantra, LIGHT. And what is light….but the absence of darkness…opening one’s eyes to what is possible and to recognize light for what it is…a beacon of hope.

    One way that I have always tried to achieve these principles is to travel. Yes that’s on the agenda for 2024. We are planning a family reunion this coming April in the city of the Hague in the Netherlands. It’s where Julie and I started our lives together as a family nearly forty years ago. We are planning on meeting with as many of our kids and grandkids who can make it happen. Of course I'm negotiating to be there for as much time as possible and perhaps, including a side trip to my homeland of Sicily. Stay tuned!

Best wishes,

John Bernunzio 

Bernunzio Uptown Music had a great year and closed out with a fabulous sale, even though we were working with a much smaller staff. We have purchased some fabulous instruments that are going to be listed in the new year and today’s "new this week" should be a real eye-opener.

I always pause the top of Main Street just about a half mile from my house to take in the view of the little town in the valley. It has been the way, the truth and the light for me.