Joe the Handyman

                Not all that long ago, my neighbor used to be Jonathan – but everyone called him Joe. He used to be known for his great amount of knowledge of do-it-yourselfing, and the fact that he spent every single weekend working on developing his home. In the very beginning, when he first moved in, his house was, in essence, a ruin. There was damage everywhere – cracked walls, dripping faucets, outlets that didn’t work. But it wasn’t just what was inside that was bad – the outside was seemingly even worse. The trees were hazardously overgrown, the grass showing multiple shades of brown, and flowers were possessed by an evil curse, figuratively speaking.

                And yet, one step at a time, his property started to look better. He obviously started from the inside, since that was where he was going to be sleeping, and working on personal hygiene. Every single weekend, and sometimes on the weekdays, we could hear him working on tearing down old walls, then replacing it with new sheetrock. He would literally throw light furniture out the window, both of which were going to be replaced after he was done remodeling. And when we didn’t hear anything from outside, we all knew he was replacing various electrical fixtures and wiring inside.

                When it came time to work outside, it seemed that we had finally found the hole in his pool of knowledge. However, after enlisting the help of a few of his landscaper friends, he managed to turn a landscape in heavy disrepair to the most beautiful yard on the block. But his passion for building didn’t end there. Swifter than the wind, his reputation as a “handyman” spread around the block. Soon enough, whenever someone needed help with anything around the house, such as repairing plumbing or installing blinds, his name would be the first to cross their minds.

                But as it is with all good things, his stay on Ramapo Lane came to a stop as well. Close to a year ago, Joe moved up to Connecticut, because his job required him to do so. He was almost convinced to stay here and work as a handyman instead, but surprisingly enough, it was the very neighbors that persuaded him to continue on in life. We all knew that it was in his best interests, and besides – all was not lost. When he left, he left behind great memories and a vast amount of knowledge that has been used by us to this very day.