That is Joey on the right. With his cousin Kevin, who is Joey's Aunt Dorothy's son.
This afternoon it has made me feel very melancholy seeing pictures of little Joey and realizing little Joey is now 33 years old.
I last saw my Favorite Nephew Joey on Saturday, August 9, 2008, at Bay View State Park. That was the same day I was to meet Spencer Jack for the first time.
In March of 2012 I saw Spencer Jack again, at his Aunt Jackie's in Chandler, Arizona. Joey's cousin Kevin was also there that day, as was Kevin's mom, Dorothy and dad Randy. But no Joey.
When Joey and his big brother, my Favorite Nephew Jason, were kids I used to have myself a mighty fine time taking them places, like Seattle, or Eastern Washington. I remember one memorable time it was just Joey and me, ending up on the USS Lincoln aircraft carrier, which was docked at its base in Everett and having an open house. Being on an aircraft carrier was a jaw dropping experience. I had no clue they were so big.
After touring the carrier, Joey and I continued on. Joey was 15 at the time and had his learner's permit. So, I let Joey drive. Joey was already a good driver and at one point in the driving I realized I should be paying closer attention. Eventually that day we ended up at a Marysville Mexican food restaurant with a large group which included Joey's cousins, those being my Favorite Nephew Christopher and Favorite Nephew Jeremy.
Another solo time with Joey we headed over to Eastern Washington, eventually ending up in Yakima picking apples, then continuing east to the edge of the Hanford Nuclear Zone, then around midnight finding ourselves in Leavenworth during Oktoberfest. We got home very late that night.
The last extended time I spent with Joey and his brother was the August before I moved to Texas. Joey and his brother flew me to Las Vegas for four days of fun including being stuck for hours at the top of the Stratosphere Tower.
I made a webpage of the trip to Vegas titled The Durango Nephews take their Fabulous Uncle to Fabulous Las Vegas. This is an antique webpage, made long ago, in the previous century. Back then, due to bandwidth issues, picture quality was compromised, which explains the poor photo quality.
Anyway, Happy Birthday Joey, can't believe you're 33. Time goes by so fast. In another 33 years you'll be older than me....
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