Childhood Friends – Joe Serrano

I cleaned off my desk yesterday. The dust and clutter had finally gotten to me. Truth is that while I will can be compelled to clean the other areas of the house, I have always been able to thwart my wife’s Hyacinth Bucket (that’s Bouquet!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping_Up_Appearances

will when it comes to my home office at Casa Claire. I have hidden behind my life long superstitious nature, and told her on many occasions that I cannot clear off my desk and other shelves and furniture because I didn’t want to disturb the writing mojo while I was working on the various books of The Claire Saga.

So, shit collects here. On any given day there will be a thick layer of dust – Colorado is one dry and dusty place – resting on stacks of books, old photos, papers collecting from both my legal and personal worlds.

Full disclosure, as a compromise, I do sweep, vacuum and mop the floors of the office when I clean the rest of the dungeon, because I have a tendency to spill drips of my coffee while I am leaning precariously back in my chair, heels on the one desk corner,

channeling the muses. I think better with my feet elevated.

But I do not disturb the gathering dust, because it represents all that came before me.

https://www.snexplores.org/article/we-are-stardust

So, a lot of the smaller items migrate to a place on the large desk that sits behind the Computer monitor. Out of sight, out of mind.

While I was cleaning yesterday, I came across an old, faded polaroid photo of me and Joe Serrano, that I must have dug out from somewhere when I was working on Finding Jimmy Moran. It shows the two of us back when we attended St. Maggies, my arm across his shoulders.

I remember the photo. It was taken on Riverdale Avenue just off the corner of 260th street, outside the New School yard. I’m guessing we were in 7th Grade. I had bangs.

I am visually triggered by things.

I met Joe the first morning of first grade in the Old Schoolyard of St. Maggies. By the time we had reached fifth grade, we had swiped and smoked our first cigarettes and swiped and drank our first beers together. We had also chased our first girlfriends as part of the same crew by that time.

Shared our senior year of High School at DeWitt Clinton.

Joe was and is one of the most fearless people I know. And one of the most loyal.

In our late teens we shared Aunt Violet’s Flop House with Lenny and a whole crew of revolving transients who crashed wherever they could rest their bodies. It really was Animal House.

That’s Joe and Stein (yep, from KMAG and FJM) during the AVFH years.

Joe really did fall out the third floor (actually attic) window of our apartment and I really did get wedged in the floor of the wooden deck below while Lenny rescued Joe and greatly upset the female lodger whose bedroom opened up onto that deck. He also was the first to encounter the cows. Those were good times.

But always Joe had an ambitious side. He was always independent, working multiple jobs and was one of the first among us to buy his own new car – a Javelin.

Joe went on to have a successful professional life in the Radiology field, marry a wonderful wife, Donna, he lives in an amazing home in upstate New York, has raised two exceptional daughters, and now is blessed with incredible grandkids.

Here’s a more recent photo.

Joe remains one of the founding members of the OFC and is one of the nicest guys I know. He is a wonderful husband, father and grandfather.

And friend.

And while I haven’t seen Joe in decades, and certainly not in this century, I know that if I ever needed him for any reason, he would be there for me.

Old friends are good friends.

So of course I made him a character in two of the books. However, since I used his real name in KMAG, I changed it to Joe Marrero in FJM.

Stay well Joe.

Well now I have my weekend chores to take care of. Farrier comes first thing this morning.

So I better get moving.

Kitties to cuddle and rounds to make.

You fine, five readers take care of those errands and then have some fun.

Reach out to an old friend.

And no matter what else we get up to, let us make today a great one.