I'm listening to KISS now. It was my cousin Joe's favorite band. As I start to write this tome, the date reads June 25th. He has been gone two years. This October he would have turned 47.

   As far as blood family goes, he was more like a big brother then a cousin. More of a mentor and a best friend then any of my family, outside of my parents of course. Joe was far greater a person then I could ever hope to be.

   He, in spite of seemingly endless tough breaks never let the world keep him down for too long. He was the quintessential optimist in a world that, at times, seemed to revel in negativity. When, during, "the storm", he lost it all, he still managed to put on a brave face, smile, and find a ray of sunshine through it all.

   That he always, to this day manages to put a smile on my face is something I wish he knew. Be it through his kindness of heart, or his, and I am not exaggerating here, endless stories, he always found a way to pick me up. If I lived life half the way he did, it'd be an accomplishment.

   He will always be my best friend.