posted to subscribe... i love this story! dave dont leave us!
Dave I feel your pain, Its a hard task to find qualified, hard working, ethical employees under the age of 35 it seems. With that said, you need to hire a hard working, car enthusiast, with a family to support that would soak up all your knowledge like a sponge and prolong the art of repairing and maintain "mechanical" engines well into the future. I am ready to start BTW does Jason still work with you? he never answered an inquiry I made a month or so back. Regards Jason
Dave, As time allows, please continue the saga! Your compassion, willingness to help your fellow man and your terrific writing style have brought both laughter and tears to me and many others reading this thread. Please don't stop now! Paul
Sending positive vibes to our head storyteller... I'm concerned that Dave's last posting was in June.
Dave, Any chance things will slow up enough to allow you to continue the saga??? There really are a bunch of folks, including myself, that are desperately hoping for an update. Thanks, Paul
I stumbled across this thread a couple days ago and have been enthralled with the level of story telling. You're a very good writer as well as mechanic. I plan to go back and read the whole thing more carefully, but is it accurate to say that old Joe passed away around post #687? I hope you keep this thread going, Dave, to let us know how Joe's car turns out, as well as updates on the festivities around the mailboxes. Thanks for all the posts. It's been a great story and a glimpse into the magic of how a community of strangers can come together as an extended family when times get perilous.
I believe the ownership has already been transferred. Once completed, Joe gets a ride.....not going anywhere just yet, AFAIK.....
I called yesterday and Dave was working on something, so did not call him to the phone.. Happy Holidays to all!
Ol' Joe, what a life! Joe spent the last few years in a lock up Alzheimer facility here in Boulder. By all accounts and logic that could have been justified many years earlier, but was finally made mandatory after a stroll through his retirement home... at 2 AM... in his Boxers only. I felt quite fortunate that the retirement home and his following extended stay in the hospital when they were treating a nasty infection that almost cost him his left eye, didn't share with the new facility everything they knew, instead taking a "why should we tell them?" attitude. Joe held a record on that floor of Foot Hills Hospital, proposing to no less that a dozen female staff in his short stay there. Joe had a very unique way of bringing folks together, read that as Kris and myself and the admin dept of everywhere he happened to live or was treating him at any given time! There were a great many debates with the Alzheimer ward staff regarding what constituted "consenting adults" and if a term like that could even be used in a facility where the doors were locked from the outside! 'Bird Dog' Joe, chasing the ladies, one in particular that had to wear a helmet for her own protection (he found that rather enticing), thus giving a great deal of hope to us old guys. Jenni and Joe, Kris and myself, had the privilege of spending a good deal of time with Joe on Christmas morning this last year. Laughter was always the theme of the day when we all got together, that laughter raised to a gut splitting level when an old gal who was a resident there took a fancy to younger Joe.... a Very special fancy! Young Joe getting hustled by a mid 80's Ward resident, Old Joe making eyes at Kris and Jenni..... surreal and gut splitting hysterical.... a new meaning of "celebrating" Christmas. Mesa Vista had long ago become frustrated with me regarding my lack of concern about them putting Joe on Hospice Care status... a year ago May. "Obviously you folks dont know Joe well yet, he isnt going anywhere soon, relax!" Sunday while down at our new building we purchased last February, the only time sucking black hole bigger than Joe himself, I got a call that time was short. "Joe is Non responsive but you really dont need to be here". "Oh no, Joe isnt going anywhere, he will only leave on his own terms and timing, nothing else, I am on my way". As was standard procedure, this time I sat on the edge of Joe's bed and brought him up to current on everything that has happened in our lives since our last visit. Politics, our family, our business, daily happenings, everything... it is what Joe always wanted to know at each visit. If ever one wonders if Non responsive folks can actually hear and comprehend what is being said to them... I was able to predict the moment that Joe would open his eyes and stare straight into my own just based on the topic I spoke about and the news I shared at that moment. Able to hear and comprehend? Wipe that concern off the list, he was taking in everything I spoke about in my rambling manner. Current events aside, I found it time to talk about a serious topic. I spent a good bit of my 3 1/2 hours with Joe on Sunday, comforting him that I had every intension to stand by my word regarding all of his final wishes. Back when Joe asked Kris and myself to be his legal guardians, he asked if I would make sure he was laid to rest with his folks in Humboldt Kansas. Thinking little of it at the time I promised I would see to it that his final wishes were carried through on.... his only response was a hard gut chuckle and a sincere Thank You. Only now do I understand the chuckle... Joe already knew what the transportation costs would be, he knew that my natural reaction would be "Road Trip", that canceled once I found out what would happen if I was caught.... dirty dog.... got me again! There is SO much more to the story, one I have always felt compelled to share... for what reason I do not know. How was this man brought into our lives, how was the connection made with my own father, he himself who I recently lost, oddly timed where they served together on the same island in the South Pacific, at the same time back in WWII? Six degrees of separation.... make that closer to 2 degrees, if that! Ol' "Bird Dog" Joe, he left this crew at 2:45 AM today, for yet another journey, sure to raise the bar in his new location.... obviously for him this life was nothing more than a practice session, God help those in the next! Seldom are we so privileged to have had the experience to share time with someone that affected our lives in so many different ways... some wonderful, some hair pulling frustrating... but all that will stay with this family for a lifetime! Thank You, Joe..... I think...
My condolences to you and your family. Congratulations to Joe for crossing the finish line; a life well lived! Enjoy the road trip And thank you for sharing. Warm regards, Art S.
I'm willing to bet Joe has left with few regrets and you, sir, are a man of few equals. I salute you and your family and just wish there were lots more like you in this world.
Both of you are lucky to have known the other, and we are fortunate to have had a little insight into not only your friendship, but the two of you as individuals. Thanks to you, and as a result of the words you’ve shared here, Joe touched many, many more lives than he probably would have ever expected back when he was living as a recluse on that mountain. And no doubt you and your family have been forever touched by having known him, probably in ways that have yet to become apparent. We should all be so fortunate as to have the kind of friendship you and Joe shared, and, especially, to have the kind of friend you were to Joe at the end. Godspeed, Joe. And thanks to you, Dave, for sharing some of his story with us.