One more to heaven….

I met Joseph Bonanno when I was 9 years old.

There stood before me this tall reed of a man, with a brooklyn accent, a swing in his step and lightning in his eyes. He was labelling samples for the company and asked me if I knew how to spell. Of course I did, and so my love affair with stone began as he introduced me to one material after the next. He was always in a good mood and a jovial character that wanted to make you smile.

Fast forward to 2007 and we cross paths again, after some time away from the company he had returned and we bonded again, sharing espresso and italian cookies on lunch break while we gossiped about women, the industry and just things. He had always been someone I could talk to and vice versa for him and his problems. Joe wasn’t a saint, rather he was quite a womanizer and lived in the basement of the home he shared with his estranged wife. He was great at his job and could sell a ketchup popsicle to a lady in a yellow dress.

He had moved down to Florida, sold his house, his old business folded and with his wife they left New York. His kids remained here and we would hear from him from time to time.

Then I heard he had cancer.  This was only a few months ago.

He moved back up here and his kids were taking care of him, he was also getting treatment at Sloan Kettering.

I just got a message on facebook from one of my old coworkers.

The man was like an uncle to me and now he’s gone.

I keep tightening my grip, but the sand keeps running out.