joe

joe was just a guy. a guy named joe. everybody knew him. they would say, hey joe. how’s it going? when they saw him on the street. a lot of people wanted to be his friend, because happiness is just a guy named joe. joe got tired of it. he didn’t want to be joe any more, he wanted to start a new life. he got on a bus and traveled to another town. before looking around the new town, he decided to get a cup of coffee and a doughnut at the bus station. hello joe, said the waitress when he sat down. joe? answered joe, bewildered. the waitress looked at him more closely. and burst out in a hearty laugh. “sorry, hon, my mistake. you look just ike a guy i know named joe.” when joe looked satisfied with her answer, the waitress added, “so what is your name, hon?” “joe.” the waitress, whose name tag showed her name was sally, thought that was the funniest thing she had ever heard, and laughed even more heartily than before. when joe finished his coffee and doughnut, he went out into the street and the first thing he heard was hey joe! joe looked up and it was al wilson! a guy he had known in either the army or community college or when he had been in a band, he couldn’t remember which. al talked at length about old times, and brought joe up to date on people they had known. joe realized there was no escape and gave up. he got back on the next bus and went back to his original town. he married a girl named trudy and they had four children, a boy and three girls. everybody liked him, and he had lots of friends.