Joe, always with a smile on his face!
Joe and I went to Grammar school together, and he lived 2 blocks away, the problem was, we didn't like each other back then. After graduation, 1966, he went to Gage Park and I went to Lourdes. We didn't see each other the whole time till my Jr. year, when my girlfriend and I were in the park, he was there playing football, he played Semi-Pro Football, he remembered my girlfriend, who we both, went to grammar school with, but not me, he said he couldn't place me in school with him. Well, I made her go with me every Sunday for the next few weeks to watch them play football, till he asked me out. My first date with him, we went to the Antique Auto Show, he didn't always have a car, so we took what he called the "green and yellow sedan" the bus! Our dates were, to say the least, fun, he was a nut! I was trying to figure out if there was serious side to him! I had made up my mind that I couldn't go out with him, I wanted someone who could be romantic, he was always a clown but he kept asking me out and I kept saying yes, I thought maybe I would meet someone else, but after a few dates, he was starting to grow on me, we couldn't be apart.
We went to my prom in 1970, we never went to his, he finished High School, by going to Night School, he was asked to leave during his Senior Year, because he told a teacher he wasn't happy with the grade she had given him, during that time, he was working in a garage, and our Friday or Saturday night date was sitting and talking to all the guys and their girlfriends at the garage. From there Joe took to to the NHRA Drag Races, I liked the smell of nitro, I was hooked from the first race, and I'm still hooked, went to baseball games! I learned about cars, small block and big block engines, how to fix them, change tires, how to wash car windows, you always knew when I did them, ton of streaks! He talked about trains & trucks. It was about that time that I knew I wanted to marry him. Always a smile on his face, and he made me happy.
We got engaged on Christmas, 1970, and were married August 19, 1972. My engagement ring was wrapped in 5 boxes, one smaller than the last one, when I got to the ring box it was empty! He was holding it in his hands, and asked me to marry him! Planning the wedding and looking for our first apartment was very exciting, I left him to pick out the Tux, What he came back with, I just couldn't believe my eyes, that this was the Tux he wanted, I cried, but looking back if he had picked something else it wouldn't of been him! The tux was Joe.
He didn't care what the apartment looked like, he just said make it us. We lived in that apartment on 79th St. till 1978, many friends came through those doors, some came and some stayed the weekend, we didn't care, they were friends. We had a few other apartments, but it wasn't till we moved to our apartment on Karlov, that our dream came true, and we adopted our Twins, David and Andrea in 1983.
The kids were our life, when he went over the road with his truck driving job, and got home on Friday night, I didn't see the kids the whole weekend, they were with him the whole time, don't get me wrong, we went out as a family, but the kids were his, till he left on Sunday night again. The kids grew, went to school, Joe still drove a truck, David got married. Andrea had Miranda, David and Amanda, had Isabella, those were his girls, his pride and joy. We had many wonderful vacations, parties, wonderful time with the kids, and a lifetime of memories! Some good, some bad, but it wouldn't have been a marriage with out that.
I will miss him, he was my best friend, my buddy, my lover, he laughed at my dumbest jokes, I will miss not be able to grow old with him! Our road trips, that always started out with fights, and him always giving in to me, one look from him with his smile I knew I could get my way!
I wonder if this is how we would have looked!
Joe went to the ER on February 15, 2010, for back pain and pain in his left arm, at one point we thought he would be coming home, found out his liver was giving him problems, and not filtering like it should have been, with that not working, the kidneys weren't doing their job the correct way, his lungs started filling with fluid. It seemed that what ever the doctors where trying, it would work with one organ and not the other. Joe put up a good fight, but in the end he was tired.
Goodnight, Joey! - I love you!
March 29, 1952 - March 21, 2010
"Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you smile."
This is how far I got, can't really see the color of the fabric, but it is very close to the color in the picture. Now that I have enough projects started, I am hoping to get something at least finished before the year ends.
As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.
Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.
