Salty Joe

It seemed like everytime we were there his truck was there, or coming in right behind us. A cup of coffee in hand and he was a “straight from the pot” kinda guy, nothing fancy, just the largest one they had. We couldn’t help notice his companion right by his side, an older blonde, and although she walked a little slower and needed help getting in and out of his truck he didn’t mind. She was sweet and gentle and he would tell us it was Vivien’s dog, but you could tell the love between Haley and Joe was real. Some mornings we would see them walking along the boardwalk, always knowing they would make their way back to stop and chat because why not, that’s what retired people tend to do at parks.

It was inspiring to see how he had really gotten the retired, living near the beach, laid back kind of vibe down and that kind of retired comes with a whole different kind of swag. That vibe really matched my husbands vibe and for being a little over 15 years apart they both shared a lot in common. Discussions of the different corvette makes and models was always a lengthy conversation. Sporting longer hair which 95% of the time they both had in pony tails. They both talked “shop” a lot which is why I started calling their meetups at the park “The Office.” They would cover all the topics, his daughter and family, figuring out the world’s problems, fixing projects they were working on, or talking about steps to build or rebuild something. Some days it was just reminiscing about the places he had been and construction sites he had worked on. He was just the kind of guy that knew a lot, about a lot of different things.

We got to know Joe well, and he was there for us when my husbands Mom passed and we were there for him when Haley sadly past. Joe never thought he’d ever have another dog like Haley, and when Lacy unexpectedly came along, well my husband said it perfectly “I don’t know who loves who more.” Lacy was only 18 months when Joe and Vivien adopted her and still needed some training. He taught her how to climb stairs, how to get in and out of his truck and every morning they had their routine with their walks on the beach where he let her run free. She warmed his heart and was a great companion while Vivien was away for work. He talked about getting Lacy comfortable being on the water, wondering how she would do in the kayak or on his boat one day were daily day dreams. They really were the best of friends.

He looked like a sailor to me, and he knew a lot about boats and had plenty of experience on them, so much so that we were sure he had salty sea water in his blood. We would sit and watch the boats go by and he would comment on the size, the engines, guessing the cost, and upkeep. He talked about the boats he had sailed on and used words like “noch and stern side” which sounded like a foreign language to me, a girl who basically gets sea sick just looking at the waves. He had an intriguing way of sharing stories, he was slow and methodical, pausing between words, just the way every good story teller does.

“The office” will never be the same, we’ll never be the same, and I’m pretty sure we will talk about our good buddy, Salty Joe, forever. Everyone should have been lucky enough to have known him.

I feel like maybe he would be saying something to us like….

“You can’t control the wind, but you can adjust your sails.”