Pete Palmieri

[Ed Curry]

Pete's one of the newer members here and one of the few that is currently undergoing a restoration. It's been my pleasure to meet him and give his boat a look see. I'd like to share with you guys my most recent encounter with the Palmieri clan.

You all know the east coast got smacked pretty good with Sandy and my neighbourhood was hit hard. I was pretty fortunate compared to others and although I'm greatly inconvenienced I was never in need. After the storm I found that my neighbour was having a tough time keeping his kids warm. They had no bedding no clothes and were living in their attic. The bastard was also to proud to tell us of his situation. Pete happened to call me minutes after I heard that story and asked what he could do for me. I thanked Pete for the concern and told him about my neighbour, mission accomplished. Pete showed up the next day with bedding, sheets, blankets and knitted Afghans all freshly laundered that he collected from his family to give to a family he's never met. You can't get rid of Pete that easy though, he stuck around to help remove the sizeable pile of debris in front of my house.

During the madness of the first weeks I forgot about Pete's act of kindness and I never properly thanked him. I'm guessing that Pete is a little uncomfortable with me sharing this but what the hell. This sandbox has introduced me to a class of gentlemen that humbles me. Capt Patrick and Uncle Vic set the bar pretty high in the generosity department and the spirit of this board reflects it. The ripple from that effort put blankets on kids and Mr Palmieri was front and center on that.

[Charlie J]

way to go peter, ed nicley put, this board has always been there for its members,
frank irguy called me up and offered to drive 12hrs with supplies and generator.
you dont see this on any other board, this site is special

[PeterPalmieri]

You are very welcome. Ed came down to my boat when I first brought her home after only joining the site. He then gave me a color fish finder and helped me remove the fiberglass poles out of my outrigger bases. He was initially going to take the ride out to greenport before the boat started having problems which made me cancel the trip.

What Ed didn't mention is when I got to his house he wasn't home he was down the block filling someone else's dumpster. What amazed me is the teamwork his neighborhood had helping each other clearing debri and filling dumpsters. It was a god aweful place at that point. I had tears in my eyes driving out of there.

[captbone]

Peter has a heart of gold.

He reached out to me directly after the storm having only met me once to check up me knowing that I lived in an area hit hard with real concern.

He would go out of his way for anyone. The world needs more men like him.

[PeterPalmieri]

Captbone glad you made an appearance.

This spring we should do a local "breakfast" rendezvous at Frank and Dick's if they're done rebuilding it, we've got to have at least 8 members from Bellmore to Sayville. Or maybe a day at the beach....I'll coordinate when we get closer...

[Charlie J]

ill do the beach if we can meet half way

[PeterPalmieri]

My wife Shannon was so touched by Ed's appreciation she shared it with her friends in the news. We passed on Ed's cell to a reporter and they showed up this morning. I missed Ed's big appearance on live TV but as I understand it as you would all guess he pointed to those hurt worse then him and those that he thought were making a difference.

Even better it brought in needed supplies and more attention including an appearance by the town supervisor. This one was all Ed. A true gentleman and someone I'm very proud to call my friend.

[PeterPalmieri]

Here is the video of Ed.

http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-pix11-car ... 5937.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You have to pick the video. London fog donates.

[Bertramp]

Peter ... you're a class act !!
all the best buddy

[Ed Curry]

How's this for an epilogue. The second piece that the reporter did about the Lindenhurst volunteers "Camp Bulldog" has brought a spike of commercial donors. Our little group has more than it needs or can handle so they have contacted the surrounding communities and are directing the goods and services where they are needed most.

This group was started by two of our local school teachers who were driving around looking for a way to help. After they were chased out of the neighborhood for being gawkers they saw a woman who was cooking hot food in the parking lot of the local bar. They joined her and brought more of the local teachers with them. Damn thing snowballed from there and they morphed from hot food to clothing to supplies. I've said some unkind words about our teachers and I'm happily eating those words with pulled pork on a roll. They were quick to respond, they adapted quickly to the changing needs and they outclassed the established relief organizations ten fold. They were also quite reluctant to appear on camera and a little arm twisting was needed. I have a hunch the reporter and London Fog helped them to see the light.

Camp Bulldog will most likely fade into the backround in the coming weeks and be absorbed by the more established groups who are better suited for the long haul but I hope the impact they had is recognized by those that plan for these disasters. Shannon Pete and channel 11 are solely responsible for the exposure of these folks and I hope in the next few weeks I'll have an even better story about the unintended consequences of their actions. And I have a nice London Fog coat and suitcase.

P.S. The cameraman who was filming the interviews had his home and possessions wiped out by the hurricane. He also refused any of the "swag" offered to him. Shannon has some amazing friends of her own