May 25, 2026 - MEMORIAL DAY 2026
Yesterday was the birthday of my youngest child Grace Estelle Bernunzio. Here’s a picture I took of her long before we opened the store. She is surrounded by four pre-World War II Gibson guitars with rosewood back and sides, including an Advanced Jumbo, a Southern Jumbo, a Roy Smeck Radio Grande and a Nick Lucas owned by Carson Robison. That would’ve made a nice retirement package!
….at the store on Saturday, I bought some cheap guitars. I still have a place in my heart for old Harmonies and Kays. I worked on Thursday Friday and Saturday.
I explained the intricacies of classic banjo to this gentleman from Toronto
I sold a fine accordion to this lady from Minneapolis
….as always, I did a little bit of counseling
Little league is in full swing in Penn Yan and the hotdog stand was packed.
And I still had Enough time to make dinner for Julie, including the special meal that I got from a Sicilian cookbook. It is hard boiled eggs served on top of pasta with a sauce made of anchovies tomato paste EVO….with a little side dish of leftover cardoons and eggplant parmigiana.
This Saturday the store will be closed. We are always like family at Bernunzio Uptown Music and one of our family members, Sammy Hirsh, is marrying his longtime partner Alex Northrup. We are all taking the day to celebrate and additionally, our own Ryan Yarmel, will be performing the ceremony.
MEMORIAL DAY 2026
May 25th, 2026
Good morning friends,
The month of May has been particularly slow for us business wise. Perhaps it is a sign of the economic downturn, perhaps it’s the unusual weather which has fluctuated from nearly 90 degrees to the low 40s at night. There have been days we have the air conditioning on during the day and the heat on at night. We haven’t sold a lot but we certainly have bought quite a few things and the pile keeps getting bigger. That said, we are looking forward June with many great events including the Rochester International Jazz Festival, 23rd edition.
I READ AND SHARE THIS EVERY MEMORIAL DAY
Today in America we pause and reflect on Memorial or "Decoration" Day. It is a federal holiday for remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces. It is said to have begun in nearby Waterloo, NY. which claims to be the founding place of the holiday. In popular culture it is the beginning of summertime, celebrated with picnics, barbecues, beer and beaches. The solemness is often overlooked as the intention is to reflect upon those who gave their life in service of their country. Every town has a parade and there is a lot of patriotism, flag waving and fireworks, but we can never fully comprehend the suffering that this ultimate sacrifice bestows upon the families left behind after losing a loved one in war. When I was in High School we read a poem by Wilfred Owen, a 25 year old English infantryman who lost his life in WWI. It had a profound effect upon me. The poem is now over 100 years old and theme of the devastation of war is more appropriate than ever.
Dulce et Decorum Est
- Wilfred Owen 1893 – 1918
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
Pro patria mori.
The store will be closed today in honor of Memorial Day, and will ALSO BE CLOSED NEXT SATURDAY FOR A STAFF WEDDING….. but of course the online store is open around the clock. Lots of new and interesting vintage instruments have come in this week so check our new this week. Every day we get calls with interesting instruments for sale. Bernunzio’s has become the place to trust for buying and selling vintage instruments at a fair price.
With peace,
JB
Home of fried chicken and ice cream is finally back open…
light and dark…