Meet Joe

I’m not sure of the exact date that I first met Joe.  I think it was at my niece’s wedding, which would have been in September of 1995.  All I know is that when I first saw him, I was struck by how big he was–at least 6′ 7″ and probably about 260 pounds.  He had a striking resemblance to Kris Kristofferson.  I asked him if people told him he looked like Kris Kristofferson, and he said, “Who?”  Never mind, I thought, a lot of people don’t know who Kris Kristofferson is–I only adored him from his big movie with Barbra Streisand, A Star is Born.

Regardless, this man put away food like I’ve never seen.  At least probably 3 huge plates full of food.  And, he carried a straw in the inside pocket of his suit coat.  He used it whenever he drank his water, his pop, and not so sure if I saw him have a beer or not, but if he did, he would have been drinking it with a straw.  He told me that if he didn’t use a straw, the liquid would drool down the side of his mouth.  He said he never left home without one.  Why did liquids drool down the side of his mouth, I wondered.  He seemed to eat just fine.  I felt I didn’t know him well enough to ask, so I just left it at that.

Nice to meet you, Joe….