Mom's House

Dear All,

As you likely "heard," I unexpectedly gave the eulogy at my Mom's funeral which evidently explained things. To follow-up, I thought you should know: I kept my only remaining promise that I made to my Mom when I was in grammar school. I bought "Mom's house" today (11/30/2006). I made sure the closing occurred on the day I told Mom it would.

I suppose all I can do is acknowledge the paradoxical timing of the low interest rates (i.e. According to Freddie Mac, the current 30-year mortgage interest rates are at their second lowest average in 32 years), the real estate market tanking and the prices plummeting ( i.e. the second largest builder in NJ recently filed for bankruptcy / analysts conclude: "Home Price Drop is largest in 35 years"), and the stock market making new gains wherein even my selected stocks finally squeaked out a profit – wherein I had enough "cents" to visit my Mom in August and tell her I was keeping my grammar school promise since the time FINALLY became ripe to buy her a house – wherein I once again rediscovered how truly great my parents are – as you 'heard.'

And I know, I know. I heard it many times over the years: You believed my investing everything in the stock market instead of putting it in the bank/CD was irresponsible. As most of you know, I never really said anything to explain my actions. Instead, I always prefer just to allow people to think what they want -- I always found it somewhat comical yet very revealing -- and it works great in the courtroom – although not so great in dating. Nonetheless, since the issue is now finally moot, and since my Mom definitely wasn't a fan of my tacit approach, allow me to finally explain my logic like my Mom probably would want:

I had a once in a lifetime window of opportunity to invest every penny without fear of repercussions. I had no family to support, no wife, no kids, no car payments, no debt, and minimal living expenses (thanks to absolutely incredible parents who knew what I was doing and why I was doing it). I basically had no financial obligations whatsoever – all I would do is be a ridiculously cheap bastard and invest every penny – after I had paid off my $100,000 student loan. Therefore, the worst that could possibly happen is I would lose the invested money – and trust me – for a while it looked like that was going to happen. However, if the investments paid off, I could, well, use it to buy my Mom a house like I said I would. Quite frankly, it was the only chance I had since I knew I didn't have all the time in the world – so I had to take it. Logically, the risk made sense to me – particularly since I was the only one at risk. And fortunately, VERY fortunately, I got unbelievably lucky by having my Mom at least know I was keeping my promise – even after all these years.

The fact is, my Mom and Dad outsmarted me. They got me good and ‘set me up’ beautifully. Why? Because they ‘suggested’ I buy a house for me that I certainly don’t need (i.e. 5,446 square foot house, $12,000 in taxes and a price tag of approximately twice as much as I anticipated spending), but which would force me to enjoy life, build a future, and not be so damn cheap. Here is a summation of the conversation I had between my folks shortly before my Mom pulled a disappearing act and went to heaven:

** After the discussion with my parents wherein they explained they already owned their dream house in Arizona

and preferred that I start enjoying myself instead.

Me: I’ve been running around with six (6) different realtors in the State – primarily one in each county. I also considered housing in PA and met with a realtor from there as well. I’ve considered hundreds of houses and was visiting 5-6 houses a night sometimes. I’m thinking of buying a multi-family house. I’ve selected the house, met with the tenants, and even negotiated the price down $50,000. I will rent out half the house and I will live in the other half. This should be easy to do since I’m also a landlord/tenant attorney anyway. By doing so, if I decide to take a mortgage, I can have it paid off 15 years ahead of schedule.

Parents: Great idea! However, isn’t your living space in the multifamily house considerably smaller?

Me: Yes, that’s true.

Parents: Well, what are you going to do with all your stuff – and you have a LOT of stuff?

Me: I will put it in storage and/or dispose of it.

Parents: And assuming you do pay off the mortgage 15 years ahead of schedule on the multi-family house, what will you do then?

Me: I will likely sell the multi-family house. Its small for me now - and will certainly be even smaller in the future wherein I’ll likely have a wife in the future.

Parents: And what will you buy with the money from the sale of the multi-family house when you eventually sell it – now that you will be 50 years old (35 years old + 15 years later)?

Me: I will likely buy a larger house.

Parents: How much larger?

Me: Kind of like your house in New Jersey.

Parents: So why not just buy our New Jersey house now?

Me: I certainly don’t need a 5,446 square foot house, $12,000 in taxes and a price tag of approximately twice as much as I was going to spend on the multifamily house. I’m a single guy. I don't need much.

Parents: But why wait? Why wait 15 MORE years to start enjoying life and get what you will eventually purchase 15 years from now anyway!? Yes, the house will stretch the cobwebs on your wallet considerably, but so what. It is a great investment anyway - for many reasons. Enough with the saving and/or investing. Enough with the cheapness. Go enjoy yourself NOW. Life is too short. Enjoy yourself now. That's what we want. Promise us you will enjoy life and not be so damn cheap any more.

Me: I PROMISE.

** My Mom unexpectedly passed away only days before the scheduled closing.

I kept my PROMISE and bought 'Mom's house' on the day I told her I would.

What's next for me? Good question. I don't know myself. I suppose all I can say is take a deep breath and hold on because its going to be quite a ride. I now have a new chapter in the book of life - the only objective being to enjoy myself. That's what Mom would want – that's what I PROMISED - and that's what I am going to do. True, it will take time for me to recuperate; the tears still haven't stopped. But don't worry. When I do recuperate, I will keep my promises, I will enjoy life and I will make my Mom and Dad proud. You ain't seen nothing yet! I KEEP MY PROMISES.

Warmest Regards,

Christopher M. Puzzele, Esq.

11/30/2006

Mothers Day. May 13, 2007.

[ Since I am humbled by the inquiries from people as to how I’m doing, I thought the following might be the best way to address the situation, albeit wholly unorthodox. But then again, when have I ever followed the norm? ]

Happy Mother’s Day Mom,

Mom, people have told me that you are watching over me. Others have said we shall meet again in heaven. Me? I’m certainly skeptical since I’ve always believed that you only live once, so you better make it good. However, I truly hope I am wrong. Fortunately, I usually am. Plus, even I acknowledge there must be at least a .00000001% possibility of a heaven. And as you and Dad know better than anybody, to me, all I need is the chance – any chance – and I’ll go for it. So that is what I’m doing. Indeed, I PROMISED you I would enjoy life. And I certainly shall keep my promise. So if you are watching, I hope you are enjoying the show – because its only the beginning. As usual, I learned my lesson the hard way. But I learned it: Enjoy life NOW. So as you know, here is a very quick summation of the latest:

	I took your advice and hired the pros to install a commercial grade sump pump in the basement just as I told you I would before you went to the hospital (this is so despite the fact that we lived there for 19 years and had almost no water problems whatsoever). Indeed, I made sure they installed it the very next day upon my return from Arizona (despite everybody thinking I was nuts for the urgency). In fact, as we discussed, I had them install a secondary battery backup pump incase we ever lost electricity and the first pump couldn’t function. And guess what Mom. Only a few weeks ago we got hit with a “nor'easter” which was one of the worst storms in New Jersey’s history. A State of Emergency was declared wherein severe flooding occurred. How is our area? It got hit real hard. All 6 lanes of Rt. 206 were shut down and countless neighbors had severe water damage/flooding. Me? I didn’t get a drop in the house – the pump(s) worked flawlessly. Thus, the game room and pool table in the basement remain perfect. Thanks Mom. J

	I’ve likewise followed through and had the roofers, the gutter guys, carpet cleaners, plumbers, and countless other individuals inspect/repair/maintain the house. Like you said, it's an investment. Plus, more importantly, I know it would make you happy and it's what I told you I would do.

	I’ve since painted, spackled, redecorated and purchased all kinds of new furniture/things for the house including straightening up the infamous laundry room, Mom. Indeed, I am even changing the “living” room to a massive “video” game room. Why? Well, I’m not particularly fond of the old name of the room. Plus, I don’t see the sense of having a room with ridiculously expensive furniture you can’t enjoy. Instead, I’m keeping my promise and ‘enjoying’ it. As such, I’ve just purchased yet another big screen television (making it my third), installed surround sound, force feedback chairs, etc. Not bad for a twerpy, stubborn, ridiculously cheap kid that insisted on sleeping in his car because he was too cheap to pay for a hotel or refused to turn on the heat in the winter, eh? However, I still use my coupon books, Mom. Sorry. I can’t help it. No sense spending twice the money for the identical same dinner. That ain’t cheap, that’s just smart (although the masses of women I meet evidently still disagree).

As for me, I’m keeping my promise, Mom, and enjoying life. And you can relax Mom. I'm still me. Heck, I've even still got my high school candy bar money (still invested of course!). I truly hope you are indeed watching me, and have a smile on your face and a tear of joy in your eye. I don’t know much, but even I know that’s what you wanted all along. So I’m doing it Mom. I’m doing it for us and for the family. This is the very best gift I could give you, and to me, so I truly hope you like it. I love you and thank you. Happy Mother’s Day. Hugs and kisses with all my heart.

Your loving #1 son,

Christopher M. Puzzele, Esq. 3

PS: The tears you see in my eyes are not only tears of loss, but more importantly, tears of love, Mom. Please know that.

My 36th Birthday. August 9, 2007.

This is rough, Mom. My very first birthday without you. No more extravagant gifts from you such as apache helicopter training on a military base, motorcycle school, skydiving certification, aerobatic stunt planes, or yet another ridiculously expensive shirt that I don’t really want or need. And ironically, now I’d give almost anything to get one of those shirts from you Mom. This really is rough. L

So what do I want for my birthday this year? What is my birthday WISH? Simple, I WISH for you (and Dad) to be okay. To be safe. To be healthy. To be secure. To be happy – as best as possible under the circumstances. No more pills. No more medicine. No more pain. Just be happy and healthy. That is truly my birthday WISH. How ironic, huh? All my life I always strived for things I never had, or never had enough of. Well now, I strive for things that I once had but can’t get back. I suppose some will say that I’m negative or focusing too much on the past. I suppose to some it can mistakenly be viewed that way. But to me, it just teaches me to not only move forward, but for the first time, enjoy and appreciate what I have along the way because its now finally obvious that in the blink of an eye, it can ALL disappear – forever. I cannot change the past, unfortunately, but I can change the future. And indeed I shall. I already have! I PROMISED.

Am I sad sometimes? Of course I am. Who wouldn’t be? I miss you and I love you. Nonetheless, I shall keep my PROMISE and enjoy life. There is not a scintilla of doubt that is what you want for me. Indeed, that is exactly what you repeatedly said.

I now realize your Mom passed away at age 13 wherein you and Dad made monumental sacrifices and essentially gave me the life that you guys never had. I’m only now discovering what your childhoods were like, and how special you made mine, particularly in light of the money and medical issues you guys had to deal with. You and Dad made my childhood wonderful for 35 years. Truly, 35 years of childhood. That is not the norm in society, but I definitely think it should be. In fact, that is why I’m returning to Arizona today for my Birthday. To sincerely say:

“THANK YOU FOR TRULY BEING THE WORLD’S GREATEST #1 MOM and #1 DAD. I LOVE YOU BOTH. AND TO SAY, NOT TO WORRY: I SHALL KEEP MY PROMISE AND ENJOY LIFE. HOWEVER, I SHALL DO IT WITH A NEW AND SINCERE APPRECIATION FOR WHAT YOU AND DAD HAVE DONE FOR ME – AND CONTINUE TO DO FOR ME.”

In that regard, I’m continuing to enjoy the house. You guys were indeed correct that buying it was a wise decision. I cannot think of anything more sentimental or worthwhile at the moment, particularly under these circumstances. It is helping me to build my life, safely invest for the future, and do it all in a ridiculous grand scale just like you always wanted me to do. Some joke that I have gone from living in the Catacombs to M-tv Cribs. Heck, I changed one of the bedrooms into a gym and put in yet another big screen television. I figure if I am going to exercise, I might as well enjoy myself. Plus, I’ve already got two king sized waterbeds so I’m not exactly short on sleeping space. I've also made the house wireless. What does that mean? It means that I can now walk around anywhere in the house (or even outside the house near the pool) with my laptop and surf the internet, listen to commercial free radio, etc. Even neater, I'm also hooking up four additional computers throughout the house, some to the large televisions, so I can access the internet/radio/etc on any of those as well.

As for the dining room, well, that was a bit tricky. I remember that room as the ultimate feasting room with impressive dinners that you would spend days cooking. And as usual, you furnished it with nothing but the finest china. Those plates alone cost more than any food I can possibly put on it – even without a coupon. As such, we are going to have the dining room set transported to Arizona exactly like you had wanted.

Although I cry, I refuse to be crippled. That is certainly not what you would want. And if you are watching over me, I know that would break your heart. Therefore, I’ve already purchased a dining room set of my own for the room. And yes, you should hold onto your wings because, yet again, it seems my philosophy disagrees with the masses. I am changing the ‘dining room’ into the ‘renaissance room’ wherein the room will be decorated in the Medieval Times genre. Instead of fine china, which just isn’t me, I’ll instead be utilizing goblets and a solid wooden table that resembles something knights would predictably eat from. I’ve also purchased swords and related medieval items. Again, the idea is to have fun, and merely refurnishing the former ‘dining room’ with the finest china just didn’t feel right.

Also, as you may remember, when I visited you last year on my Birthday, I mentioned my new business idea about www.FindThatLawyer.com that I was contemplating. You seemed to like it. Therefore, it seemed appropriate to follow-through. As such, I registered it as an LLC and made sure that the opening day is today, my Birthday, 8/9/2007. As for its success, to be honest, I’m not worried about it. What’s important to me is that I did it, exactly like we discussed. And not to worry, even if I did close it down, with the tax deductions, it’s all good. J See, I haven’t changed entirely. ;)

So if you are watching over me like everybody claims, I hope you are still smiling and continue to have a tear of joy in your eye, because truly, you ain’t seen nothing yet!

PS: Thanks for the Band-Aids Mom, evidently in anticipation of my ongoing home improvements. I keep them in a safe place. Ironically, I did not receive them in the mail until I returned from Arizona. How ironic, huh? I guess you anticipated I would need them. You were indeed correct – more than I could have possibly imagined.

With All My Love And Appreciation From Your #1 Most Grateful Birthday Boy,

Christopher M. Puzzele, Esq. 3

Via my visit to Arizona on my birthday, Dad just told me about the article. Thanks again for the great advice Mom & Dad.

As I said in Mom's eulogy, you guys are, truly, my HEROES!!