The Barn Blog

Erik Sherman has written several books on Baseball. His most recent project was as co-author of Mookie Wilson’s autobiography, which made the New York Times Bestseller list. Erik discussed baseball and his writing career. He shared stories about the subjects of his books,  Glenn Burke, Steve Blass, and Mookie Wilson. Each of these men overcame difficult obstacles to take their place in baseball history.

Tommy Tulotta, Tony Lunario, and Joe Sacco from the band East Coast Rednecks performed in the Barn. In between songs they talked about their experiences with songwriting, recording, and performing. Note that the cover for ECR’s latest album Kick Back was photographed in the Barn!

Angelo Spilios is a master chef and senior director of dining services at the Fieldston School. He provided an amazing BBQ including a pig roast on rotating spit, brisket and ribs in a smoker, as well as hot dogs and burgers. Angelo gave a brief talk describing his preparation and cooking process for the BBQ.

Peter Palma organized a gambling event with tables for blackjack, roulette, craps, and poker. It was a really fun night. Thanks to the enthusiasm and generosity of those who attended, we raised $1,100 to benefit The Wounded Warrior Project.

Bob DeGenarro is an air traffic control supervisor at Westchester County Airport. Several years ago he gave a barn talk on Air Traffic Control. Bob focused this presentation on the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. He was able to give us an inside perspective that we don’t get from the news media.

David Tosi is an avid SCUBA diver. He conveyed the fun, challenges, and dangers of diving. Dave brought his diving suit and gear and explained the use of the various devices. He also showed photos of some of his dives, including one where he encountered sharks.

Doug Paratore is a software engineer and amateur poet. He read some of his own poems as well those by famous poets such as Shakespeare and Thoreau. Doug told some stories from his own life, providing the backdrop for his deep and meaningful poetry.

Theodore “Burt” Burtis is an accomplished drag racer and muscle car restoration specialist. He explained the different classes of drag racing and the importance of reaction time, elapsed time, and speed in order to win a race. The audience was surprised to learn that you can lose a race by going too fast. Burt also talked about the technology used in drag racing on the track as well as in the cars.

Danny Lam is the Northeast Sales Manager at Altadis, one of the largest manufacturers of cigars in the world. He showed a short video depicting how cigars are made. Then Danny discussed the proper etiquette of cigar smoking including the correct way to cut and light a cigar. He brought 2 types of cigars which we enjoyed and discussed throughout the evening.