Even when the old guy and his wife were off on road trips for a week or so, I missed them. How could that much personality exist in one person! I’m a bit of an introvert, so when my husband and I first attended this church, I smiled and said hello to people, but tried to stay low key. Joe wasn’t haven’t any of that. He came over and started joking around with us as if we had been friends forever. It didn’t take long before he was teasing me. He would call out, “Hello, beautiful,” and when I recognized his voice and turned around, he would laugh at me. I learned of his military service (he was proud of that) and how he and Linda met and that his folks came from the island of Malta. Have you ever had a friend like that who becomes a fixture in your life? Over the years, I looked forward to being greeted by his quirky sense of fun. Then Joe got sick and he wasn’t there every weekend. It came to me that Joe might not make it. No, how can I face going to church and Joe not being there. I didn’t want to think about that.
Joe died today.
Briefly Speaking 