Hi gang. Just wanted to pop in and give you a little insight as to why I haven't been around. I know you guys worry.

After 5 weeks of renovations, I opened my own pizzeria. It's another branch of my family's Umberto's. We officially opened on July 9th. Since then I have been working at least 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. I'm exhausted, but can't sleep well most nights. I miss my daughters terribly. And my wife is usually upset with me. I miss her too. Business is pretty slow, but gets a little better each day. We have been met with nothing but praise on our pizza/food thus far. A few locals were angry that the restaurant we took over sold, as they were there for 30 years. The original owners kept the sale pretty quiet. We have some shoes to fill in the community. Rumor has it that my dining room is fuller, during the peak hours of lunch and dinner, than the original store has been in the past 5 years. On top of everything, I think that I may have developed my first ulcer.

With all of this going on, I've still been able to have an occasional midnight cigar. Usually while doing office work for the store. As of right now I'm keeping myself in rotation for the newbie samplers, and staying on board for the puro pass. If anything changes with those, I'll let the corresponding authorities know. I'm trying to keep up with with what is going on here, usually just reading. Hope you all are doing well and if any of you come to Long Island, you are more then welcomed to come visit.