Wednesday, September 4, 2013

KIM......HE DID NOT SWIM HERE FROM CUBA...BUT...

The followers of "Thoughts " have read about the swimming feats of Kim Garbarino,including
The "English Channel " conquering  last August (can you believe it was a year ago !)..........

well.........He is up to it again. First, On August 10, he entered  the Boston Harbor Light swim
with 25 other swimmers.......EIGHT MILES LATER.....Kim was one of the eleven swimmers
that finished it.....

After the above race Kim met an Author,Mike McCormick who writes about swimming and after he learned of Kim's exploits...He asked him to do  a "double" Boston Light Swim THAT HE COULD WITNESS.......so 10 days later......Kim swam to Carson beach,South Boston....and back to the Light
House in less than ideal conditions........The time was under eight hours.

This is an amazing accomplishment......considering the short recovery period he had between the two swims.I will keep you updated......"The presses will be rolling"
Far left,Walter Butler,Mass State Police,Kim,Author Mccormick
and Bob Gaff, Boat Captain

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

"EARN YOUR SHOWER"..............JOE CAPONIGRO

Coaches and Teachers from the youngest level......up to the Professional  level make a difference in people's lives..........The unknown is " who is actually listening".....when wisdom and inspiration is
given by the leaders in our schools.........

Joe Caponigro, Baseball Coach of Lynn English HS,Lynn,MA. FOUND OUT THAT ONE OF HIS PLAYERS LISTENED TO HIM.............It happened to be  one that is going to Harvard University in the fall.

We should all listen to "Joe Cap ".......


 English High School

365 diplomas at Lynn English

By Chris Stevens / The Daily Item
LYNN — Lynn English Valedictorian Jake Meagher walked up to the podium during Friday’s graduation, thanked administrators for approving his speech then tore it up.

“Before I begin my speech I need to make an apology,” he said. “The speech was full of life lessons … but today is about 2013.”

Meagher’s speech to 364 of his peers packed into in a steamy field house was full of thank-yous to staffers and family and included individual shout outs to “those that paid me a $1 to name them in my speech.”

He joked that anyone who doesn’t think they’ve come a long way since middle school should, “check out your old MySpace page and try not to shed a tear. Seriously I tried it and I couldn’t.”

But it was also full of heart.

Others quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson, Winston Churchill, Mark Twain and even Judy Garland, but Meagher quoted his baseball coach, Joe Caponigro when he told his classmates they should “earn your shower.”

“Always put your best effort into everything you do,” he said. “Everybody is capable of great things but you still need to earn your shower every day.”

However he also brought down the house when he said, “to quote Shakespeare, at least I think it’s Shakespeare — We started from the bottom and now we’re here,” which is actually a quote from hip hop artist Drake.

“I knew that would get a good reception,” he said.

Class President Kati Vu also drew chuckles and cheers when she reminisced about elementary school.

“We were ready to take on the world with our Britney Spears and Power Rangers backpacks,” she said, adding, “by the time we became seniors, freshman appeared smaller and teachers had become mentors, she added.

Keynote speaker Rep. Robert Fennell, an LEHS alumnus, urged the students to find their passion and City Council President Timothy Phelan urged them to choose the right path not necessarily the easy path.

Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, a Lynn Classical High School graduate, whose two children attend English drew cheers when she admitted she was becoming personally attached to the school.

But for all its pomp and circumstance the ceremony left some students a little dazed.

“It’s surreal,” said Leo Awokang. “I can’t believe 12 years is down to these last few minutes.”

Emmanuel Jaidah said prior to Friday it seemed it took forever to finish high school.

“Now it seems like it was just yesterday that we were freshmen,” he said.

The Mason boys, Kyle, Cody and Robert, cousins, have been together a lifetime and Friday they graduated together.

“From diapers to diplomas,” said Robert Mason.

The three will go their separate ways in September with two headed off to college and one into the Air Force.

“We will definitely miss the teachers and friends and all the dumb stuff we did,” said Robert Mason.

Lindsay Barrios called the day bittersweet. Guadalupe Barrios, no relation, agreed but also said it was a good time for a fresh start.

Salutatorian Kelsey Littlefield reminded her classmates that although they are moving on, they will always be bulldogs.

“We will forever bleed maroon and gray,” she said.

Chris Stevens can be reached at cstevens@itemlive.com.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

TEBOW....................HORNUNG

I know I have been around longer than the followers of "Thought's ".............but this story of Tim Tebow is like "history repeating"........back in the 50's ----60"s Notre Dame had a QB who was big,strong and a great college player.........He won the Heisman Trophy........and ended up in the
NFL.

Guess what.........He did not have the mechanics to be the starting Quarterback for Green Bay and in
addition Bart Starr was the Starter and he was a "winner". The Coach Vince Lombardi made Hornung
a running back and he was good enough to make it to the NFL Hall of Fame as a back who could run,pass on the option play and catch passes.He also was a kicker....../He was a mainstay of the Champion Packers and was my favorite player............

I do not think Paul Hornung prayed as much as Tim...........so you never know....

If he makes the Patriots.....He may be on the Roweboys as a reserve.

Monday, June 10, 2013

POPE FRANCIS......WHAT DOES WELCOME MEAN.......

So an unmarried woman has a child......and she goes to a priest an  asks that her baby be given the
Sacrament of Baptism......The priest says no since she is not married..........
I know that in many Catholic Churches this has happened, but  let me tell you the following;

There is a "new sheriff" in town.......and Pope Francis is telling the Church and its Priests to get out
and be with the people and show compassion and welcome to persons seeking the Church.Pope Francis said the the woman had the courage and fortitude to have this "Child of God".....and the Church must welcome this soul into world.

God Bless........More to come.........



Thursday, June 6, 2013

KIM GARBARINO......AND ENGLISH CHANNEL SWIM TEAM

I told you that there are going to be some great happenings in the next few sumer months ;

Kim and his "Channel Team " are going after the Catalina Straits off the Coast of Southern California
The distance is the same as the "channel",however it will not be as cold and will not have the currents..........................but guess what..............England did not have any Sharks.......at least
I didn't see any.

The particulars will be  described more fully in "Thought's" as we move along.


You followers know I "sneak off" each summer for a week or so......Last year was Ecuador.......
this summer it may be Haiti.........more on this later also.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

SUMMER HAPPENINGS........

Ok Guy's I will be posting items I am involved with during the summer and readers of the "Thought"s"
are welcome to participate.

The first one is a week from Sunday, June 16,2013  1: 30-4:00 pm and you will have the opportunity
to serve the meal at My Brother's Table.Remember, the Table serves meals seven days a week and
they do not accept any public funding.The Table served over 112,000 meals in 2012.

They need your help.

Let me know as soon as possible.If you let me know soon....You can bring a friend or family members.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

WANT TO DO CHARITY WORK.......JUNE 16TH ...LET ME KNOW

I have a need for some "good souls " to help me serve dinner from 1:30- 4:00 Sunday,June 16....

If you wish to help let me know......The sooner the better........Volunteer spots usually fill up soon.


My Brother's Table will appreciate it.We served over 12,000 meals in 2012......and it is rising each month

Your help is appreciated.

Thank you


Tuesday, May 28, 2013

PANAKIO ADJUSTERS,LLC.....NEW TEAM MEMBERS....

I have been a busy guy......and Lisa and I are thrilled to welcome two great guys to the Panakio Team.
...................Joe Caponigro and Dan Davison.

.Joe is of Swampscott and LYNN ENGLISH fame  as the current
Baseball Coach who is always in the STATE TOURNAMENT.
It did not happen this year,but there is "always next year.He is
a business guy who brings tremendous talent to the Office.He will
be the Head Administrator and work along with Dan in client relations.

Dan is a Lynn guy who was a  standout QB at Saint Mary's and
is a successful licensed Contractor who owns DSD Construction in Peabody
He will be supervising our Large Loss Estimating Division.

Most of the followers of this site know that Panakio is always there when calamities
strike.A fire,broken pipes, and storms can be upsetting to you and your family.We have  the
experience and "know how" to deal with the Insurance Companies . We know you
have questions when a fire or storm of Sandy" proportions" occurs and we have the Answers.

Myself,Lisa, Dan and Joe stand ready to assist you on a moments notice.




Tuesday, January 22, 2013

TAKE A WORLDVIEW.....FORGET THE NE PATRIOTS

I was thinking of the Patriots loss the other night and all the fans both young and old who were upset at the outcome.
We all realize that it is ok to care about the NFL if you take it in the sense that it is entertainment and
not "life or death" or serious gambling.
I was reading a Matthew Kelley book a few weeks ago and he asked a simple question ..........

What is your worldview............Here is his answer.......


How do you see the world?...  there are almost 7 billion people on the planet, and if we reduce the world’s population to 100 people, proportionally…
  • 57 of those 100 people would come from Asia, 21 from Europe, 14 from North and South America, and 8 from Africa
  • 51 would be women, 49 would be men
  • 68 of those 100 people would not be able to read and write...
  • 6 of those 100 people would own or control almost 50% of the world’s wealth
  • 5 of those 6 people would be U.S. citizens
  • 3 of those 5 people would live on the same street of the north shore of Long Island…
  • 1 out of those 100 people would have just been born
  • 1 out of those 100 people would be just about to die, and
  • Only 1 out of those 100 people would have been to college…  
  • 1/3 of the world’s population died from lack of bread
  • 1/3 of the world’s population died from lack of justice, and
  • 1/3 of the world’s population died from overeating…
SEE YOU LATER...........THINK ABOUT IT.....