This amazing photo of the "Tribute of Light" was taken by Clifton Bazar.  Click here to check out his site.

The World I Know
Collective Soul

Has our conscience shown? 
Has the sweet breeze blown? 
Has all the kindness gone? 
Hope still lingers on. 
I drink myself of newfound pity 
Sitting alone in New York City 
And I don't know why. 

Are we listening 
To hymns of offering? 
Have we eyes to see 
That love is gathering? 
All the words that I've been reading 
Have now started the act of bleeding 
Into one. 

So I walk up on high 
And I step to the edge 
To see my world below. 
And I laugh at myself 
As the tears roll down. 
'Cause it's the world I know. 
It's the world I know

And so, with fond thoughts of Becky, Lisa, my friend David Parker who also lost a friend in the WTC, I bid you a goodnight.

All the best,

:Penz

September 5, 2003:  And time marches on! September already.  Crazy!

So, the past week has been a fun one. On August 27th, I flew back to New England for a crazy adventure filled week :)  I took BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) from Dublin right to the San Francisco Airport. That was really convenient!  My plane left around 12:30 PM PT and after a stop in Philadelphia, I got into Manchester, NH around 12:30 AM on Thursday morning . After picking up the rental car (Nissan Altima) I headed down to Nashua, NH and crashed and Dustin and Alex's place.  I got a few hours sleep and by 8:00 AM was on the road to Dover, NH where I met up with Paul "Dubbah" Barnes :-)  He and Jodi were just about ready to go. Car was packed with food, booze and fruit marinating in grain alcohol :)  Hehehe, my kind of party wagon.  After a brief moment of 'oh my God, where did I put Penz's concert ticket", Paul got his shit together and we were ready to go!  Joined by his friend Derrick, we all jumped in the car and headed down to Great Woods/Tweeter Center (Mansfield, MA) for the show.

Hehehe, tailgating at a Jimmy Buffett concert is an experience unto itself.  It was a crazy fun drunken day of meeting fun/interesting people, drinking lots of run, being crazy and having fun!  As soon as Paul sends 'em to me, I'll post the pictures up here :)  

The show itself was great!  As always, Jimmy put on a great show and since I literally "headed out from San Francisco, for the Labor Day weekend show!", I was not disappointed :)  After the show, it was back to Dover, NH where we all eventually crashed out.

The next day, Jodi went to work and Paul and I got to spend the day together.  After waking up, we headed into town for a bit of lunch at the local tavern (and yes, a drink or two :) and then off to the grocery store to pick up supplies for that nights dinner.  After that, we headed back home and spend the afternoon chilling out.  That night, we shared dinner with a couple of his friends before heading out to see Jim Mayor and Scott Kirby play in Portsmouth.  My sister Gini, Johnson and Alex all showed up for the show as well, and that made for a really fun night!

The next day, I bid my farewell to Dover and headed down to Nashua where I would meet up with Joshua "Tucker" Smith.  He was doing some last minute finishing touches on getting setup for the reception that would follow he and Andy's civil union. Once done, we headed out and hung out for the afternoon. That night, I treated him to dinner at Michael Timothy's in Nashua, NH, which is a high end gourmet restaurant.  As always, the meal was delicious, the company great and the evening memorable.  After dinner, we walked around downtown, enjoyed some conversation while walking along the river, and then eventually headed back to the Crowne Plaza hotel where we crashed out.

The next morning, we met his parents, Andy's parents, Andy and a few of his close friends for brunch at the Crowne Plaza.  That was a lot of fun, as it was my first time meeting his parents as well as the rest of the crew (except Andy). We all had a nice meal together and then after a few pictures, we all began our journey up to the Montpelier, VT area.  Upon arriving there, we checked into our hotel rooms, grabbed some dinner and just hung out.

The next morning, at 9:00 we all met at the Vermont Statehouse for the ceremony. It was a beautiful morning and everything went beautifully!  It was magic watching Andy and Tucker exchange their vows/rings in front of their family and close friends. I was really overwhelmed by the moment; feeling so extremely happy for them.... :-)  Pictures will be posted here as soon as they get back from their honeymoon :)

After the ceremony and lots of pictures, we drove the 2 hours back to NH and met up with everyone at the reception.  Catered and held under a big tent, about 100 people showed up to celebrate the occasion! It was great!  

The next day, I went down to Peabody, MA to see my family.  On Thursday Aug. 27, my uncle Hal Bornstein, passed away at the age of 75 and he was laid to rest the follow Sunday. Following the Jewish tradition, the family held shiva (this is the Jewish form of a wake) for the 3 days at the house. On my visit, I got to see my cousin David, his wife Julie and their handsome baby boy William.  I also got to see my cousin Eric and his wife Toni who is 7 months pregnant with their son Julian.  My aunt Bernice was there as were various other friends of the family. My brother Tim, who had been there throughout the weekend, also came by during the early part of the afternoon, so we got to spend some time together. All in all, all things considered, it was a nice day and I really enjoyed seeing my cousins and the family.

That night, I hung out with Tim and his wife Suzanne over at their place in Wakefield, MA.  Gini came by and we all spent a few hours together before I had to take off and head back to Nashua where I packed my bags and crashed out around 11:00 PM.

The next morning, I was up at 5:30 AM and around 7:30, my plane took off from Manchester Airport. We had a stop in Philadelphia and then off to San Francisco where I arrived around 1:30 in the afternoon.  I took BART home and spent the rest of the day catching up and chilling out.

Hehehe, it was a fun trip, but far from relaxing. On Tuesday, I was hoping to get down to see Scot Servis as well as Lisa Cragan but the shiva threw those plans off.  Next time!

So, what's up for this weekend?  Not sure.  Probably just take it easy and hang out.

Next weekend, I'm thinking of going skydiving on Saturday and SCUBA diving on Sunday!  Hehehe, how's that sound!?!?  We'll see how it goes :)

Over the past few weeks, I heard from Brian "The Bear" Barry, of whom I went to college with.  He writes:

 "Been a long time but this has been a week of getting in touch with long lost friends. I'm in Sierra Vista, AZ right now doing some training for the Army. I'll be leaving for Korea in Oct to fly RC-12s. I just got back in touch with Bob Middleton who happens to be stationed right up the street in Tucson. I talk to Tom Doucette about every three month. he is doing fine in Florida. Karin <my wife> is back home in Marshfield, Ma with my three great boys. (Nathan 3, Jacob 3, and Ethan 6 Mon.) She will be staying there until I return from Korea"

Yesterday I spoke to Steve "Milkman" Mayou. He's still in the USN and for this weekend is down in San Diego before he heads back home to Honolulu, where he is stationed.  I'm going out to see him in November for Thanksgiving for about a week and we're gonna have a blast! I'm bringing my SCUBA equipment and we plan to have a lot of fun on the water!

I also got a nice email from Tim Davidson back in NH, he writes:

"Well, what hasn't been going on! It's been very hectic. I don't know if you know, but I am married, 2yrs in Oct. We bought a house out in Lyndeborough ( 12miles from Peterborough), with views of the mountains. We have a spacious lot, with which the girls can run around. Do you remember Kola? Well we have a little sister for her, she is 14mths old and a yellow lab, by the name of Kailee. 

Last year I took hunter safety class, and am a proud owner of a Mossberg 500-shotgun. Last year I went out and just caught a cold. There is plenty of action, right in the back yard. I had a black bear greet me at 4am as I was leaving for work last year. In the fall I help my neighbor, he's a butcher. His side job is custom cutting, so I help him cut up deer, moose, bear etc.. Needless to say, I have a good supply of meat in my freezer ( chest freezer no less!). 

For work, I'm going on 3 years with Corporate Chefs. I am the foodservice director for them in Westford, Ma. My account is a computer firm by the name of Juniper Networks, so I feed 500 people on a daily basis. This account is very nice as it is new and the clientele appreciate good food, so I kick it up, so to speak. We also do a lot of high end catering events for them. Obviously, the work is fun, but the hours are long and I still don't get to eat!!! Patty (wife) & I bought a new camper this year, we have been all over the place on weekends, the thing is awesome. It sleep s 6 or two dogs & us. It has a large self-draining 3case beer cooler, frig, heater and 3 burner gas stove. This camper is fun!..."

 Ok, well that's all for now!  I hope all is well with your world.  Drop me a line and say hi!

All the best,

:Penz