November 14th, 2022

Good Morning Folks,

    Continuing the slow crawl back to mobility, I have been faithfully doing my prescribed physical therapy….but it’s the mental therapy that really keeps me going. That comes from family and friends…it is what strengthens the heart and lightens the soul. I have often said that children are our investments and grandchildren are the dividends. Going a little further I would say that we plant our investments earlier in life with the close friendships we make. We reap the dividends by continuing those friendships in our later years.
     Last Monday I had the good fortune to have a visit from my old high school buddy Bob Hogan. Bob and I went to McQuaid Jesuit High School from 1961 to 1965. The Hogan family lived in the Mount Hope section near the University of Rochester and Strong Memorial Hospital….a far cry from the lonesome farmer’s fields of Webster, NY where I was raised. It was a neighborhood with small streets, modest houses and lots of kids. Bob’s dad taught at a city high school and his mom was one of the sweetest people I have ever known. Every night she would make a fine dinner, everyone would sit down she would light the candles, they would say grace and we would share a meal and the moments our day. If they were the "Cleaver" family, I was Larry Mondello…the chubby Italian kid who always managed to hangout on the weekends and get invited to dinner. Bob now lives in California so we do not get to see each other very often. He was in Rochester for the funeral of his younger brother, Steven and he drove down here and we spent the day going around Penn Yan. We toured around town to the Keuka Outlet Trail and had a lovely lunch at The Tavern. I was so grateful that we could get a few hours together to reminisce and "catch up". Always a natural gentleman, he brought a lovely bouquet of flowers for Julie.

    On Saturday morning, before work, we celebrated my son Jay’s birthday at his house in Penfield so we were able to see most of our other "dividends"…especially the twins…Scarlett and Olive. Jay and his wonderful wife Taylor each have their own successful businesses and have a beautiful home, not too for from where Jay grew up. Everyone brought something and we had a fine breakfast with an "omelette birthday cake" made by our oldest daughter, Kara. Of all the presents that can be received or given, the most precious is "time". Time spent with family reigns over any  material gift for the holidays….That’s what I want for Christmas!

   After breakfast Julie and I headed to the store where we spent a very active day. The place has become "Banjo City" with the addition of 100 new/old banjos that just arrived. The staff have been working extra hard to get everything catalogued, organized, photographed and set up. It’s a monumental task along with everything else that is required to run the store. It was a very busy day selling the same banjos that I had sold several times before!

Sincerely,

John Bernunzio 

A birthday breakfast…