One of my best friends died while I was in Prison. He was 44.
We were roomates in Missoula in 2003. We lived in a 4 bedroom house with 2 girls… all random… we all met on craigslist 😆 He had the most beautiful redhead girlfriend. Those were carefree fun times. Lots of women around. Joe was one of the smartest, funniest, best friends I’ve ever had. He went on to earn his Master’s later in life and became a suicide/mental health counselor. He was so good at giving advice when the chips were down. I can’t tell you how many times he was there for me when I didn’t know what direction to go. That was his calling. Who knows how many lives he saved or changed for the better. He carried all that pain with him. He was peaceful, gentle, funny… I mean really goofy funny… with his last name, he had to be! He could have been a comedian. The girls loved him.
He came and visted me in San Diego. I went to Thanksgiving at his family home in Seattle. He introduced me to his younger sister in Seattle and wanted us to hook up. He tried so hard to sell us to each other lol 😂 If I think of any good stories I’ll add them here…
His sister just told me he overdosed on pain meds. He always had a problem with them, and I never understood why he liked those pills so much. I don’t know what he got into, probably oxy’s. But there was a sadness in him, a depression about the world. He was a realist. He saw the reality and the pointlessness of our stupid little lives on this planet. He struggled with it for his whole life. I think he struggled with just being alive. He was truly too good for this world.
He wrote this letter about me, when I got arrested in San Diego over that gun bullshit. (PDF above) And this letter actually says a lot about him. Goodbye buddy. I‘ll miss you. I’m not gonna say I wish I could’ve been there for you, that I wish you could have called me, because I was in Prison, and there’s nothing I can do to change that. You’re still here with me, in my head.
Goodbye Joe. Love you buddy. Roger and out.
In this photo below, I was delivering a load in Seattle, and met Joe for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. He jumped up in my truck and was pretending to be a sullen truck driver 😂 he’s making fun of me 😅 like who sticks their head through the window frame?
EV11 Automotive 