what joe did

Introduction
The sounds of laughter and happiness, everyone wishing each other, hugging one another with well wishes, a family and friends were celebrating a new year, the year 1979 not knowing that the real celebration was still to happen.
A few hours later, a scream of tremendous pain. It was time. The screams of labour pains echoing through the house, it was a New Year’s morning, the mother to be was taken to hospital and at 3:10pm a baby boy was born to two God fearing parents. They named him Joe, as white as snow, all toes and fingers accounted for, in other words, perfect.
The father arrives after 7pm to take his wife and new born son home, where the baby?s older Brother Edison and grandmother awaits; oh what a joyous meeting it was.
First years
Four years later Joe grew, as any normal 4 year old, but always wanting to be in the background. He never liked to be centre of attraction. He even took his first steps before his parents found out. Not long after his fourth birthday he and his older brother got the news that a new addition to the family would be coming, he was excited like any other sibling would be and for him it was an added bonus because now the attention would shift to the new sibling.
One day on the way home from the doctor he overheard his parents speaking with concern in their voices, at 4 years old he did not know exactly what was wrong, but he knew something was wrong. There was a complication with the new sibling that was on the way. He was still happy though and exited and could not wait .That year 20 September the new sibling was born (Angel) and she was different, but he did not care because she was his little sister and he loved her.
Months went by and his sister was diagnosed as mentally handicapped and had a huge murmur on her heart and the doctors did not give her long to live, mother explained this to them, that did not change a thing for Joe, she was his sister and he loved her even more. Life went on, his sister went for countless operations and checkups, and he never liked it. Lots of trips to the hospitals but on the brighter side of things he liked it a little because he always got chips and sweets and cool drinks (and that is heaven for any kid). Time went by and sister got better and was perfectly healthy (doctors were wrong she lived) she could not walk or talk but she did things that a normal child could do, and the family adapted to know exactly what she wanted and needed, to the family she was as normal as any other child, only special though Joe and his brother hated it if people stared. Joe could hurt someone seriously, he had a very dark side to him that no one knew and will never know.
All the attention was on sister now and her improvements, so Joe was happy.
School begins.
1985 summer, it was now time for school and Joe was exited because Joe liked learning new things, Mom took him to school that summer morning as moms did all those things because dad had to work. He immediately made friends, there were kids crying and going on but that did not bother him, he wanted to be in school like his older brother. He went to Liesbeeck primary which was not far from his Portland?s house where he lived. Just after his birth his parents moved to Mitchell?s plain, Portland?s in Cape town South Africa, Portland?s was a peaceful suburb and Joes mum walked everywhere with them, so he knew his way around and not long being in school, Joe told his mum not to come to the school to fetch him, “we all know how mums are??, so that did not work, only in time mum waited further and further away and those days it was a much safer world.
It was so safe that people could leave milk bottles with money outside and in the mornings a van with fresh milk would come and deliver the milk to the door step while you sleeping or out and no one would steel the money or the milk. People could leave their doors unlocked, that is how safe it was.
Joe was an average boy nothing special about him, maybe just his nice eyes. Joe had nice hazel eyes and some days it would turn green. He was average at school and doing well, but he had a stutter and it got worse, and he realised it got worse when he got nervous oh! He was made fun of, but he still had friends. In grade two one day the teacher went out the classroom and told the class captain for that day to take names of anyone who talked. Joe was not much of a talker but his class friend Paul was a chatterbox and spoke to Joe, Joe did not answer cause he knew he would get into trouble but Paul did not stop, so Joe eventually told him to keep quiet and at that time Garth the class captain spotted Joe and wrote his name down. Joe knew he was in trouble but said nothing even when he had to go to the toilet he kept quiet. Eventually after 45 minutes His teacher Miss Daniels came back and asked Garth who the talkers were and Joe was one of them. They all had to stand in front of the class to get their hiding, while standing in front another teacher came in to talk with Miss Daniels and the same time Joes pee was pressing but he was too
scared to disturb his teacher because she was already angry with them. So Joe let go and peed in his pants. That at least got him out of getting a hiding but the class had a huge laugh. The stutter did not last long in grade 3 he had it under control. He met Jack in grade three who came for the first time to the school that year (1987) and because Joe saw him at church the Sunday before, he befriended him. They became very good friends. Jack was a good boy and the two of them had a lot in common. Joe started having a very strong liking to soccer that year and played every day in his breaks and after school, after his homework was done. The next year he joined the club Portland Rovers which his friend Ricardo staying 2 doors away already played for and his dad Uncle Freddy was the chairman of the club.(more on that later).Joe did nothing special on school and was not famous, he was a normal boy. Teachers liked him but they always compared him to his older brother, because somehow Joe ended up in the same teachers classes.
Joe was overall a good boy, yes he was naughty as any other kid, but he worked with a style so that his mum did not find out much, due to his mother being the enforcer. Joe?s dad worked a lot like all dads did those years. Joes mum was a house wife and was very strict and gave a good and solid beating when need be. Joe and his brother Edison had to be in the house by 5pm and if not, mum would come and get them, in the street where they lived with a thick leather belt and hit them straight into the bath, one by one. She would first grab Edison and then return for Joe. They were bathed and done eating by the time their dad got home from work and that was a rule not to be broken or else. Joe?s dad was cool, very passive he never hit them, his talk alone was scary enough, but there was one day that Joe and his brother got a hiding from his dad and they would always remember that hiding.
He?s dad was a lover of the old peugot cars .He had a green one that was driving and 3 others in the backyard that he kept and used as spares, but that is what Joe and his Edison did not know. One sunny day they with their friends Ricardo, Denver and Rashaad that lived in the road, played in their backyard and they decided to smash all the lights and take out the globes of all the cars in the yard. The day went on, mum did not notice, when dad got home he blew his top when he saw what they did and they got a hiding of their lives with a thick leather belt (original thick leather).The hiding started from the yard and straight into bed with no supper. A hiding they would never forget.
The Choice
Joe enjoyed soccer, played it everyday when he could. He joined the club, Portland Rovers at the age of 9.He played under 10 and played right half. Joe was good for a rookie and got a trophy at the end of that year. It was called “rookie of the year”, which was the best improved player that joined that year.
The next year a deacon from the church asked Joes mom if he and his brother did not want to learn music, but they both said no and I quote „?no that is for nerds??. Joe?s mom and dad were good parents they did not force them to-do anything. Joe and his Edison went on playing soccer. Joe was a better soccer player than Edison.
Later that year that same deacon asked Joes mum again and Joe decided to try it out, and when Joe said yes Edison also wanted to do it, and guess what ?Joe loved it. That is when he realised that he could learn fast if he wants to learn and if he enjoyed it. For example he could not be able to play something when he went to sleep and then the next morning when he woke up he could play it, but he did not tell anyone because he did not like attention.
Joe enjoyed playing soccer and playing his recorder, no problems, but suddenly Joes coach made the soccer practices the same day and time as his music classes. Joe asked his parents what to do and dad said “do what you love the most it?s up to you”, because he did not want them to blame him at the end of the day, and that sounded fair to him. Joe decided to leave soccer and continue with music. That was his choice and he was happy with it.
Things went well with Joe?s music. The next year his mum asked if he would like an other instrument and he wanted a violin and he got it, it was not long then Joe started playing, he amazingly taught himself with a book his parents bought him, the same time a school teacher found out he had talent in the music sector and used him to play in concerts and he actually enjoyed it. Jack Joes best friend also played recorder and trumpet, so they played in concerts together and practiced together.
The Wonder Years
At 12 years of age Joe started noticing girls and had his eye on a girl at his school, Candice was her name. She had light coloured frizzy hair almost blond and was light of complexion. She was a bit shorter than Joe. She always had on a short tight grey skirt and in summer she wore a red pullover (that was the colour of the school red and grey), Joe was not much of a talker around girls (he was still wet behind the ears) and did not know how to approach this girl. He had an older school friend in his class Shevon that was popular with the ladies and he told Shevon he has his eye on Candice and did not know how to go about the whole situation. Being friends he told Joe he would help.
It was first break and Joe and Shevon were standing under a tree looking “cool” and Candice walks past and Shevon tells her “hi there this is my friend Joe, he likes you” Joe turned red but to his surprise she answered “I know” and she smiled at Joe and walked on. Shevon insisted that he must go talk to her, but he was to shy and said “no another day”. Shevon then told Joe not to be so a sissy otherwise someone else might make a move before him and he would loose.
The next day Joe made his heart strong and decided he is going to speak to her, at first break. The bell rang he was pretty nervous but made his way up the stairs to the girl?s class, and then he walked into her and said “hi” ..............long silence............. “Can I talk to you after school” she replied with a smile “ok? But we can talk now” Joe replied all Dum struck “no after school I got something to do now” he lied; he choked that why he said after school hoping he could shake the nerves. After that encounter Joe was pretty angry with himself but still nervous.
The day passed and the bell rang for school to be over, he walked slowly to the gate and there she stood waiting over the road, Joe was still a distance away and coming closer suddenly another boy came past her and put his arm around her neck and walked with her, with Joe seeing this he turned around and walked the other way not knowing that Candice took the boys arm off her and walked away from him. Joe did not bother to even try to talk to the girl again but the strangest thing happened his stutter came back. He still had a crush on her and eventually after 2 weeks he did not see her in school anymore, he asked around and found out that she and her family has moved and she went to another school. He was angry with himself, but that passed with time. Later that year Joe met Mel but that
did not work out because she lived in Lentegeur. Lentegeur was situated next to Portlands but was a very dangerous area. There was lots of gansters and kids that wanted to be gangsters, and a couple of boys wanted to hurt him because he was visiting the hot girl that lived in their area and Joe did not want to go through all that trouble for a girl, so he did not bother to call her again. She on the other hand called three to four times daily but then Joe told his mum to tell her not to phone there anymore.
Joe was an average student and was ok in sports, with every inter house he always came in second or third but never made it to the inter school athletic meetings, except for the last year in primary school grade 8.He was in yellow house and it was the 100 metre sprint, they all lined up and got in position to start the race................. “on your mark................... get set...................go” BANG and Joe was off he ran like he never ran before, at the 50 meter mark it was neck and neck between him and Neil, (Neil was a boy that Joe could not win in running, every year Joe trained to win him but never could) suddenly a spectator got a little on the track and broke Neil?s concentration and that was the break for Joe. He pushed and he came first. That was the first round in his age group in the last round he came 2 that made him qualify for the school team.
Joe was happy to hear that he also came first in long jump and was to represent the school in that as well. He was exited and immediately the day after started training. During that time he actually got famous at school, other kids started greeting that would never great before etc. Joe trained everyday at school and even after school, he even drank raw egg. Training went well and eventually it was time for the athletic meeting.
That morning Joe got up early with lots of butterflies because it was the first time he was to run for the school. He had a good breakfast that morning and was off to school early. The school transported all the athletes to the stadium. It was finally time for Joe?s race, the first hit in his age group. All the boys lined up in their lanes, Joe was lane 2................ “On your marks” Joe got down in position “get set” and because of nerves he started before the gun went off. BANG BANG a double shot went off and was announced “lane 2 final warning, take your mark” now Joe nerves were really on end but he controlled his breathing.............. “On your marks..................get set................. BANG” and he was off, but to his surprise he could not get away from the other
boys, it was tight so Joe decided just before the line came up to fake a cramp and came last. He did not want to run the entire race and come third or fourth at least this way he could say it was because of the cramp. Everyone said after the race that it?s a pity he got the cramp he could have made it, so Joe was happy with his sneaky choice he made. With the long jump as well he got disqualified he had 3 no jumps.
That did not bother him at all because it was his last year on primary school. The year went fast and he past at the end of the year and was accepted at Portland senior secondary which was situated behind his house, but this reminds me of a rather embarrassing story that happened to Joe in the final exam.
It was a rainy day and Joe had this long navy blue rain coat. He put it on that morning and left for school. When he arrived at school he took it off cause the rain stopped and it looked like the sun was coming out. The bell rang and he got ready for the maths paper. He was confident he knew his work so he started with his paper but after 15 minutes he stomach started not feeling well and had to go to the toilet, but as we know once you start exams you cant leave the room so he had to continue with the cramps. The cramps got so bad after a while that he could not concentrate and decided to let a little of the pressure out and he shit in his pants. At this stage he did not care, all he wanted was to get done with the paper and get home to his toilet because he never ever used other toilets.
Time past and the pressure started again, but he was not done yet so he decided to let another bit out, the teacher walked around the class as they always did checking if anyone was cheating. She came to the back of the class where Joe was sitting and pulled her nose, but did not know who it was. Eventually Joe finished and gave in his paper but now he was faced with getting up and he had a huge wet spot on his pants, but at that time it started raining again and he thought “my rain coat” he put it on and ran home and no one knew what he did.
Teenage Years
It was now 1993 after the holidays and Joe just turned 14.It was time for high school, Joe was a serious looking fellow and had a lot of older friends. He was a fearless boy and would never keep his mouth for anyone, and that got him out of a lot of situations as well as in trouble, for example when his brother came home one day with a blue eye, a boy in his class had beaten him up and Joe was the one who went to the boy who beat his older brother and told him if he ever comes near his brother again he would kill him. The boy laughed at Joe, then Joe looked at him with no fear in his eyes and told him” well we will see after school who will be laughing when you dead” and with that said he walked away. That boy was so scared they never went close to Edison again. Joe loved his brother although they argued a lot.
Finally first day of high school arrived. Joe was exited because all he was thinking about is girls like any 14 year old would. He arrived at school and got to his class, his friends were with him and he made new friends. (Joe?s older brother Edison was also at the school and he was a nerd in all the sense, always done his work and done nothing exiting or wrong, (where Joe was a black sheep or at least wanted to be, always doing naughty things but without his parents finding out).
The first day of grade nine was surprisingly going great for Joe, he met a lovely girl Amanda, she had black hair cut in a “Bob” style and she was pretty and tall. She approached Joe where he was sitting in the far end of the classroom, second from the back, she introduced herself to him and asked him if he had a girlfriend, he replied “in actual fact no I do not have a girlfriend” then she asked him “can I be your girlfriend” Joe was astonished but answered “yes why not”, they chatted the entire day but over the next week they stopped talking to each other and lost contact, nothing came from this short hook up, mainly because he listened to a friend, who was on the school the previous year. He told Joe that Amanda was an easy girl and had a lot of boyfriends and that made him turn a blind eye towards her.(In actual fact she was not like that and Joe missed out on something great)
Life was good on high school, until one day when he had a fight. Gary who was in Joe?s class was teasing Joe for a while and this one Friday Joe had enough. It was the period before first break and it was a free period and there was no teacher in the class. Gary who was a bit bigger than Joe walked passed him and hit him with a piece of paper in his face and at that moment something snapped inside Joe (like a mirror breaking) and
he jumped up not saying a word and started hitting Gary in the face, one blow after another eventually Monrey (a friend) had to grab Joe away but Joe broke loose and went for Gary again, it took three of his classmates to keep him off the boy until he came to his senses. Joe had to please explain that day and got a hiding from the principle.
That year Joe became a bit of a renegade maybe because of his new class friends he made. Their names were Monrey, Ossman, Randy, George and Jake who was his best friend. The six boys were naughty, one day they decided to drink a bottle of brandy before school. All the boys told their parents that they have a class project and had to be early at school but that was a lie, they all met at a park not to far from Joes house and Monrey who bought the bottle took it out and they drank and got drunk and went to school. They were never caught. Joes mum was clueless of his doings on school.
Close to the end of that year Joe was playing in a lot of musical workshops in the church orchestra. (The bishop area orchestra). He played every week (Tuesday evenings @ 7pm) in different congregations, but when he went to Colorado congregation his eyes fell on a very beautiful lady in the audience (oh and she was very pretty, very small nice curves long brown hair and two dimples) and it seemed like she was looking at him but he was not sure. After the workshop she disappeared but Joe asked around because someone had to know who she was. Luckily for him one of the girls that also played violin with him knew this girl. Her name was Shirnel. The next week he spotted her again in another congregation and gave her a wink just to see her response and she smiled, Joe told himself “it is on”. After the workshop was done he rushed to get to her before she left and he got to her and there was electric. Joe eventually dated Shirnel for a few months until the worst brake up that left Joe angry at the opposite sex, angry in a sense that he would get back at all females by using them.
It was a Monday and after school he and Jack went to the library like they always did and when he got home Edison (who was seeing a Tamzin that was friends with Shirnel) told him “Tamzin phoned and said that Shirnel does not want to see you anymore”. Joe was astonished because the night before he sent a dedication to her over the radio station Good hope fm saying how he feels about her and they read it out and Joe actually recorded it, because of that Joe was very angry and started using girls seeing 3 or 4 at one time, but that came to an end when Joe?s dad noticed
his behaviour and had a man to man talk with him and told him he is heading down the wrong road, and when his dad talked they listened.
At that age Joe?s parents left them a lot alone at home on Friday?s because Joe and his Edison did not want to go with, and their parents trusted them because Edison was the responsible one, not knowing that Joe could easily manipulate Edison into something. This is how they started smoking; (Joe, Edison, Jack and the 2 Macintyre brothers Calvin and Joseph).It first started with the dad?s nipped cigarettes that he left behind. Joe and Jack were always together best buds as well as Joes brother and his friend Wilson. When Joe was left alone he immediately phoned Calvin and Joseph Macintyre to come over to smoke.
As I mentioned Joe started smoking from his dads nipped cigarettes and later when they started getting addicted to it, he started stealing of his dads, when his dad went to sleep, because his dad always bought the “bible of smokes” (30 cigarettes). Joe?s dad loved his beer and drank a lot of it on his off days which was weekends starting Fridays after work and when he got past the level and went to sleep Joe would sneak into the room and stole 1 or 2 sometimes 3 and did it well and never got caught(or so he thought).
The four boys were very close, they were always together, they were at the age were they wanted to go clubbing, but they were not allowed (Christian parents were totally against it those years) but that did not stop them, Joes parents trusted them and let them go out alone, but only if Edison was with because he was older and very responsible, that gave Joe an idea. He persuaded his older brother and every Saturday Joe would tell his mum they are going out for the day, to malls or the cinema, but guess what! They did not go there; they ended up at club vibe matinees because they were too young for the night. This carried on and they were never caught.
Joe was sneaky and a fast thinker, and could manipulate people easily. He was so sneaky he actually made a fake I.D. from Edisons old I.D. and
was able to go to clubs at night with Edison and Wilson and Jack. Jack looked much older than his age. The shyness Joe had as a young boy has gone but he still pretended to be shy, this approach help him a lot with the girls (somehow girls liked the shy ones).He was a very good judge of character and could read and sum up people very quick. He was a fast learner and he did ok on school but was constantly compared to his brother by his teachers, because like on primary school he ended up in the same teacher?s classes as his older brother. That annoyed him because he was clearly not his brother he was his own person and he and his brother were total opposites. Joe was an average student, where his brother was an A student. Joe was not one for reading books etc.One thing about Joe he was very good with his hands, he could make things, he could fix things and this he done with no lessons he could just do it. Even when a small kid he was always dismantling his toys just to see how it worked, Joes brother on the other hand was totally useless with his hands he even got an F for handwork in school. So you see Joe and his brother were total opposites. Joe could do tricks on his bicycle and when his older brother tried it he would get hurt. Joe was an extremist he road skateboard, roller blades and was good at it, he actually learned to skate over night (the gift he had) he got his roller blades on a Monday night, could not skate at all, that night he went to sleep and the next morning he could skate. He also had a very short and bad temper. “Now you should have a pretty good picture of Joe”.
Joe did average at school and the next year 1994 he was 15 and a new love interest arouse, there were other girls that he has encountered but they were (fly by nights) insignificant ,now this girl named Joy was something else. Joe actually knew this girl all his life they were in the same Sunday school from the age of 6 but they never liked each other, they were like strangers to each other. That year 1994 after the Holidays, school started again Joe started noticing her and could not seem to get her out of his head, but she did not seem to notice him. Joe knew since that time there was something different about her he knew this is the one. Through the course of that year Joe had made it known to her that he was interested and she brushed him off like he was a piece of dust, He was disappointed cause he knew this was the girl for him, but he accepted her response “for now”. They were both learning for confirmation and would be confirmed the next year, so he saw her every Sunday and they were at the same school so he saw her everyday. The year passed by and Joe had other girlfriends but always had Joy in his heart. Joe passed grade 10 and
it stated in his report that if he continues the way he was he would pass metric with exemption because he passed all his subjects on higher grade. (English, Afrikaans, maths, history, geography and biology.)
Second Fight
It was a Monday third last period, English class and the entire class was split up into groups to do oral presentation. Joe and his group was last to do their presentation, while they were busy Ashraf decided to make fun of Joe from the back of the class, Joe got real angry and when the bell rang and the teacher left he approached the boy and asked him what his problem was and he answered “it was not me” Joe asked him “do you think I am an idiot and pushed the boy, at that time someone shouted “the principle is coming and every one split up and Adhraf told Joe “wait for me after school. Joe knew at that moment that he had to fight after school. Eventually when the bell rang and the school was out Joes anger subsided and was going to make peace with Ashraf but as he and his friends were walking more than half the school was behind him and knew about the fight and Joe realised it was too late to bail out. Joe walked down the road and they all followed and looked around there Ashraf came walking on with the rest of the school behind him. Joe waited for him in his road where he lived.
Confrontation
There the boys stood facing each other with almost the entire school around them; Joe was not angry and did not want to fight. They started pacing around each other, and suddenly it happened , one of the school kids pushed Ashraf against Joe and Joe immediately retaliated with a punch to Ashrafs stomach then to the face, he continued with more punches to his face and he was moving back and moving to close to Joes neibour?s house at this time Joe was thinking “please someone stop the fight” bit no one did and Joe paused for a second and at that time Ashraf Jump on to Joe and both of then fell on the ground Ashraf ontop, asraf got a blow in and Joe felt it , Joe turned Ashraf and he was on top again ready to hit him and someone pulled him from behind, he turned around ready to give that persona shot but he stopped, it was Edison, he saw the commotion and as he walked outside to see someone shouted “that is his older brother” and that when he realised Joe was in a fight again and he knew how angry Joe can get, as Joe turned around to go at Ashraf again he was gone, Joe shouted at Edison out of anger “why did you do that” and stormed back home to get a knife and ran out to look for Ashraf but
then all Joes friends stopped him. He eventually cooled down and realised his nose was bleeding and mite be Brocken. He had huge blue eyes. After going to the doctor and finding out his nose was in fact broken and the doctor told him not to fight again because he had a week bridge. Joe realised a valuable lesson that day. Never underestimate anyone.
1995 arrived and this year was to be a very exiting year for Joe because it was his confirmation, (or so he thought).Joes dad was well known in his field of work(steel) and the beginning of February that year Joe was shocked with the news his dad told them. His dad got an excellent job offer that he could not turn down, but there was a huge catch. They had to move, they had to leave the country. Joe?s dad got the job in Malawi. Joe and Edison were devastated with the news, they did not want to leave but never had a choice, it was decided that we would all leave in June that year. That night Joe?s parents discussed the move because they could see that the kids were not happy. The next evening Joes dad called another meeting and asked their opinion on the move and they both told him that they did not want to leave all their friends and school etc and surprisingly Joes dad told them that he decided they could stay cause they were old already but he made it clear that they loved them that why they decided to leave them behind. Now that sounded like heaven for Joe, a dream come true, no parents a house for them. Then Joe?s dad added that Joe?s grandmother would move in and look after them and Joe?s dad gave the car to Edison, but that was cool with them because they had the coolest grandmother ever. So all was settled and agreed. This was indeed a great year for Joe and he had a huge trip to Mmabato as well, after confirmation. End of April arrived and Joe was confirmed and set to go on the biggest youth train trip ever.
The next week after confirmation they all left for Mmabato, Joe had been visiting a girl prior to the youth trip Helene and thought he had everything sorted, but his heart got broken by this girl on the first day of the trip, but Joe was a fighter and things like that did not bring him down, he enjoyed that trip to the fullest and met a lot of new friends (Some things are to remain secrets) although the food was terrible and he did not go to the toilet for a number two the entire weekend.
The Departure
June has arrived and Joe?s parents were all packed and set to leave the Saterday morning at. Joe, Edison, Jack and Wilson stayed up all night cause they had to be up at 5am to be at the airport at 6am, Joes parents had to book in that time. all the preparations all the planning all came down to that moment .Everything went perfect and they got 5H45am at the airport, all the friends and family came to see Joes parents off. The goodbyes started and obviously the tears started rolling and surprisingly Jack started with the waterworks, Joe on the other hand did not shed a tear, but that was Joe very hard person and did not like to show emotion actually he never cried. Joe