Hey girl
OK - I have finally gotten my head around the fact that an old mate has passed from us, and I thought I would come back to this thread and touch base again
I gotta say that in just a little way you are sounding a little jaded.... hmm. just maybe???
You said this just before "lets not give ourselves so much credit for doing what any idiot could have done! ". You are so right, any idiot could have done what has been done in our industry. The fact is though, most idiots wouldn't have done what we did because of the backlash form our communities that we faced. I wont cite all the cases of people in our industry being crushed because of what they do, so I will use my own life as an example. When that article came out in our home town in the major press, all my neighbours in my gated community went on the offensive. To such a point that I eventually had to remove my family to the other side of the world. Maybe if you think about it, you have to be an idiot to do what we do.
But lets get back to the point of this post. Joe E. He was an indelible character within this industry, and he had the ability to touch people in a way that was just so special to him.Was he a god? No. Was he a pioneer? Probably not. Was he the best thing since sliced bread even? I don't think so. But was he a character worthy of remembering fondly to those he touched. Absolutely.
If you want to start a Joe E bashing thread, be my guest. But as I see things, three of the local boys back home screwed me over big time and you know what. I would have a beer with them any day (of course I wouldn't do biz with them again). And the reason I would have that beer with them is because at the end of the day, we all belong to this klan of idiots.
Props to you Joe E
And a special hug to you CJ