How I saw Joe Cat
People say in life, what we do, how successful we are and how we treat others, are some of the ways we measure a person. These are all good examples, but there's an important one that is often is missed...
How do people see us?
I remember being a young kid and going to Catizone family parties, and I mean the old ones from the seventies when there were typically 200 people there. If Scorsese could go back in time and make a movie about a family, he would have won another Oscar shooting one of these parties.
Joe Cat always stuck out. We always noticed him. To us, the young kids running around, he was the cool uncle with the corvettes, the long hair, the one in the sunglasses, even inside and even on a rainy day.
To the rest of our aunts and uncles he was the baby. Which meant they all had his back. That's what family does. And what a great group to have behind ya.
Joe didn't have to try to be cool, he just was. I didn't hang out with him in his hay day, but there were always stories. Great stories. Some of which I was probably to young to hear at the time, but I heard them anyway.
The band Bad Company wrote a song called 'Shooting Star'. That song would never have worked for Joe because he burned brighter and for much longer. If anything he was like Haley's Comet. He wasn't always around, but when he was, boy did he burn bright.
We saw Uncle Joe that way, bright and exciting. He lived a life that was equally bright and exciting. There were probably many nights where Nana sat up and waited, worried sick. But Joe always found his way home. Uncle Joe lived a carefree life and didn't fall into the patterns of being told what to do or how to do it.
Joe was always the guy to put a smile on your face when you needed it most. He was the guy to lend anyone a hand when they asked for it. I feel like if Superman needed a cape, Uncle Joe could have made that happen.
I think most people who remember Uncle Joe will remember a fun, charismatic and energetic guy who made all of the Catizones more likeable.
Uncle Joe always treated me with respect and like an adult. I respect him for that and will miss him more because of that. I know from now on he'll be hanging out with Nana, Pop pop, my Dad (Uncle Tony), my mom (Aunt Connie), Uncle Pat, Uncle Louie, Uncle Jackie, and Aunt Dorothy.
Now, that would be a good table to sit at.
So when you ask... how did people see Uncle Joe?
I hope they saw him and remember him like I do...
The coolest guy with the best car at the party, the one who everyone wants to go up to and shake their hand and certainly the one smiling and calling you 'baby'.
For Uncle Joe 'Joey Cat' Catizone and all of the Catizones.
9-14
By Jimmy Catizone
