Joe

Another interesting day. Walked Kimball, then went to Wal-Mart for large envelopes to send Mike his mail. Showered and washed my hair. Before I got to The Townehouse, I stopped at Ashwood Gardens, just on the bare possibility they might have an apartment coming open. Nope--I wasn't surprised, and will continue to pursue my moving plans shortly.
Got to The Townehouse about fifteen minutes early--our appointment was at 4:00--but Joe LaRocca was already in the lobby waiting for me. He took me to his digs, one of the very nice cottages, with lots of flowers and other foliage at the entrance and in the patios (this is California, after all). It's very, very appealing--in fact, I can see myself living there. He has two beautiful yellow hibiscus trees--not bushes, but trees. He said they were his late wife, Mary's, favorites and he considered them "a sign" that he should move there. Mary died seven years ago.
Joe is a nonstop talker and no shrinking violet when it comes to self-aggrandizement. However, he isn't obnoxious about it and besides, he gave me a glass of chardonnay while we talked and it was nicely convivial. I stayed for about an hour and took a lot of notes.
Wow, what an interesting background he's had. He's 91, graduated from Rider in 1955 when it was still in Trenton and had a long career in electrical contracting, labor relations, and related callings. He showed and gave me so much material, I'm going to have a hard time honing it down to manageable size. Luckily, though, he gave me a copy of a kind of bio--two pages and it will be helpful. Today, I'll call the editor of Rider's alum magazine and see if they want a story on him.
Anyway, once I pull together some semblance of an article, I'll add more about him here.