Renaissance Joe
He sits in front of me, or anybody else he talks to - earnest, attentive, gravely
listening. He crosses one long leg across his knee and shifts his weight, getting settled in.
A conversation with Joe is always gratifying, simply because one feels they have his
entire focus, that he is completely present to the other person -whoever they may be. The mail
carrier, the minister who stops by to see his elderly parents -they are all equally important to
Joe, at least on the surface. Although glib in his own right under the correct circumstances, he is
always careful to answer any question lobbed his way, giving it the consideration of somebody about
to win a million dollars on a game show. This endearing quality also makes him seem a bit
surreal, and often leads to questions about Joe which really have no easy answer.
He is one of three brothers whom I've known for many years. He is simple and appears to be straightforward, yet a closer check reveals him to be a most complicated human being. At 52, he's my contemporary and yet I always feel a lot younger than he is. Joe can rebuild an engine, play the stock market with quiet intuition, making money when others are losing it. Knead his own perfect bread or hail a cab with equal aplomb. He can play any stringed instrument with ease, and yet the playing isn't passionate. It's perfect, a solid performance, for he and his brothers have few musical equals. But there is a glossiness about the music which leaves the listener confused, maybe a little disappointed. This might be because whoever interacts with Joe encounters only a reflection of themselves. His brown eyes are mirrors of those he meets- no smoke to accompany the mirrors, for Joe is an honest man and what you see is basically what's there. But a little less,too. After losing three sons -two who were infants, dying just a few days old and expiring in his arms at the hospital. The third a teenage son in a senseless traffic accident. A wife who walked away after years of marriage-the burden of association too great, maybe.
And now , in many ways, he's a guy for whom everything is easy. Once you shut down the main artery to your heart and set the auto pilot, your worries are over. He laughs often, is unendingly gentle and is always busy. Lately, it's been figuring out how to launch a helium filled, LED blinking UFO over Springdale without being arrested. He would briefly note the ensuing chaos, then move on to something else . His brain is always alive, planning the next practical joke or building the next motorcycle in his mind.
Life is good, as long as one skims along the surface, chuckles gently and [ thankfully] doesn't have time to read things like internet blogs.
He is one of three brothers whom I've known for many years. He is simple and appears to be straightforward, yet a closer check reveals him to be a most complicated human being. At 52, he's my contemporary and yet I always feel a lot younger than he is. Joe can rebuild an engine, play the stock market with quiet intuition, making money when others are losing it. Knead his own perfect bread or hail a cab with equal aplomb. He can play any stringed instrument with ease, and yet the playing isn't passionate. It's perfect, a solid performance, for he and his brothers have few musical equals. But there is a glossiness about the music which leaves the listener confused, maybe a little disappointed. This might be because whoever interacts with Joe encounters only a reflection of themselves. His brown eyes are mirrors of those he meets- no smoke to accompany the mirrors, for Joe is an honest man and what you see is basically what's there. But a little less,too. After losing three sons -two who were infants, dying just a few days old and expiring in his arms at the hospital. The third a teenage son in a senseless traffic accident. A wife who walked away after years of marriage-the burden of association too great, maybe.
And now , in many ways, he's a guy for whom everything is easy. Once you shut down the main artery to your heart and set the auto pilot, your worries are over. He laughs often, is unendingly gentle and is always busy. Lately, it's been figuring out how to launch a helium filled, LED blinking UFO over Springdale without being arrested. He would briefly note the ensuing chaos, then move on to something else . His brain is always alive, planning the next practical joke or building the next motorcycle in his mind.
Life is good, as long as one skims along the surface, chuckles gently and [ thankfully] doesn't have time to read things like internet blogs.
8 Comments:
Leaving a pebble for you and Joe.
By lesley153, Jan 14 09 6:40 AM
Captivating! I think I know Joe. I think I may be Joe. Brilliant!
By bobcat88, Jan 14 09 7:37 AM
He sounds like an extraordinary person,someone that you could call a very good friend.
By pattycake65, Jan 14 09 7:54 AM
Excellent, Kate. I believe we all might know or have a Joe in our lives, IF we take the time to see them as you have. You obviously know him well enough to voice the pain inside and not the protective shell he presents.
I never want to be at a point in my life where I feel the need to turn on the auto-pilot to survive. Thank you for reminding of that.
By jordandog, Jan 14 09 8:26 AM
Actually, I've known Joe for so long that he's like a member of my family -furniture of a sort, but of the very nicest kind. He is one I'm still trying to figure out, but not in any active way, since I try to respect his privacy [ except for small anonymous outbursts like this one.] Then I'm fine for a while.
By ktstew, Jan 14 09 9:49 AM
I like Joe. We may have something in common. Not the musical ability, that's for sure! But something...
By veronikkamarrz, Jan 14 09 6:30 PM
When you shut down the main vessel in your heart you die, if you do it spiritully the soul dies but the brain goes on. He has had a very traumatic existance I think he had to shut his spirit down or the pain would be too intense. I don't envy him but I would like to visit with him.
By garrysouders, Jan 14 09 9:11 PM
By the way, your narrative was so well written that I have read this three times, it just flows, good writing.
By garrysouders, Jan 14 09 9:12 PM