Adios Joe!

I met Joe at a party at Billie and Ned's house many years ago. . Billie writes BillieBlog. He had on round yellow glasses. I thought then, "Anyone who can wear those glasses is someone I want to know!" He was stilll living in Paris at the time but ultimately moved to San Miguel and lived at the end of my street. What a character! What great parties! What fun clothes he always wore. And what a kind heart.

Two stories - because isn't that the essence of the people we care about - the experiences and stories? One day there was a knock at the gate and I opened it to see Joe standing there with a sack of tomatoes for me. He grew them on his roof, in close proximity to wear he suntanned on a daily basis. How generous! Then remember back in August when my wallet was stolen? Well I went to a bank to open an account and hopefully be able to get some cash from this new bank. Joe was there. He and I visited and I told him what had happened. He said, "How much do you want?" Not, "How much do you need?" I said no, no, and I did work it out with the bank. He called that night to make sure I had indeed been able to get money. Now THAT is a friend!

Joe's love of folkart even surpassed mine. I loved to be in his home and admire and talk about the various pieces in his collections. So few people had that knowledge about Mexican folkart. I treasured that too. His house near mine did not showcase his collections in any way near what his new house accomplished. There was a super party there last Friday night with all of his friends and his brother who had come from Montana. Joe had built the most wonderful warm home. Something to enjoy and be proud of. His creation.

Each minute detail was selected by Joe. It WAS Joe - a house of color - just like him. And of course he HAD to have a pool for his suntanning. Not just a simple pool but one with a little pool house next to it. Again, attention to detail.

As if all that wasn't enough, Joe LOVED to cook. His dinner party last week of fifty or so people was entirely prepared by Joe and his brother. All to complete perfection. I teased him and said I guessed I couldn't serve simple brownies anymore. The above dessert was a lemon cream cake with fresh strawberries in a pastry bowl with a dollop of whip cream on top. A joy to behold and almost too good to be true.

Just like Joe! Gosh we'll all miss him so much. He was "one of a kind".