Joe Joe!

It's not like anyone who is reading this doesn't know who Joe Joe is. We can all remember the welcoming sound of his mother's voice when it was time for him to go home and have dinner, or rub her bunions, or whatever he did in that house. The sound wasn't welcoming because of her sweet voice, but because we knew this would be the end of the scent that surrounded him wherever he went. There was really no polite way to tell Joe Joe that it was time to go home because he loved being around everyone so much, so if we did tell him that we had to go out, or go in to eat, he'd say okay and turn around and sadly shuffle off home. Not to get all sad or sentimental or start feeling guilty about Joe, but there are some pretty funny stories that will probably stay with us for a really long time. They've already been with us for 25 years, so I'm sure the memories are burned into our brains. I think the first memory Jenn has is that her first friend in the whole world was at age 3 with a 41-year-old mentally challenged man who smelled kind of funny, walked on the side of his foot, and only had a few teeth left in his head that were black.

The funniest thing was watching him teach Jenn (or, Jen-E-Fair who is Chal and Keestofair's sister), how to ride a two-wheeler. The poor guy could hardly walk, but yet there he was (at age 41), holding the back of 3-year-old Jenn's bike, running like a madman to make sure she didn't fall off. It is amazing that he never had a heart-attack.

Remember the first sign of spring living on Dunrobin? The first visit from Joe usually marked it. Then that was it until snow fell. He was a part of many parties and family get-togethers at our house, and he even provided records so there could be more music to listen to. All of our friends and family knew who he was.

Summer wasn't summer until Joe made an appearance. He'd tell us tales about going to the Ex and winning a sailboat, going to the lake, and he'd go on and on about the antics of Hawkeye and Hot Lips on Mash.

I haven't seen or heard from Joe since the day our family no longer lived on Dunrobin, except for a few years ago when Chris was on his route, and Jenn was living on Rothesay. From what I understand, Chris was in Jenn's area, saw him and showed him where Jenn's house was. Jarret was playing outside, and there was a knock on Jenn's front door. When she opened it, Joe and his friend Robert were standing there. Can you imagine what Jenn thought when she saw him?? Her first friend!! And now her child had the opportunity to meet him too! What a feeling! It just struck me so funny. A few weeks after that day, I was talking to Jarret and someone told me to ask him something about Joe. So I just asked him out of the blue, "What was Joe's friend's name?" (As if I knew but just couldn't remember) Without even hesitating, Jarret responded, "Robert". How he even remembered is still beyond me.

Poor Joe has been brought up in so many conversations we've had over the years, but obviously he had an impact on all of us in one way or another. I'm sure every morning when we lived there, he couldn't wait to get outside to see what we were all up to.

From what I understand, Joe's life was much better the last time anyone in our family was in contact with him, AND he had a friend. So, things are probably okay with him. Moreso than when we knew him as kids.

As for his teeth, well, I think they all fell out a very long time ago. He probably keeps his extra set in a jar.