[charlie_the_tuna]

y'know, i dont know if its because we're getting older but this one hit me pretty hard. joe was the third of our gang to pass.
we lost our good friend robbie when he was just a baby. we were 15 and it was just the most tragic thing ever.
then a few years back we lost another good friend, kav. we were in our late 30's and nobody was shocked because of the turn his life had taken in his last few years, but a terrible loss, nonetheless.
but with joe, well, its still kind of surreal because he was this young (relatively speaking) tough little family man who had been enjoying the best years of his life up in vermont. he was a brilliant musician, a skilled craftsman and back in his day a great athlete. he moved to vermont about 7 years ago with his beautiful wife lauren and her daughter from a previous marriage. they had a little boy 5 years ago and this little guy just took joe by storm. i met joe when we were 15 and we immediately hit it off. we were bandmates and basically together all the time.
lauren was the daughter of an old friend of my parents and i've known her forever.
i guess the worst part of this whole thing is the family he left behind. his wife is in such terrible pain that it kills me even to speak to her. jesse wont remember much about his father and given enough time joe will be only a vague memory to his beloved son.
i'm sorry to ramble on like this but i guess its just part of my healing process. man, this sucks.