Emily Alves remembers Joey

Joey and I became good friends when I was in high school. We were friends on our own because of PIT and became even closer because he dated my best friend and I dated his. For two years Joey, Laken, Blake, and I did everything together. This ranged from Harry Potter and Chevys to Formals and Fair.

Some of my best memories of Joey are from snowboarding at Dodge. We all went almost every weekend. It always involved Joey driving, us getting sandwiches and amps at SaveMart and listening to Sublime on the drive. Joey liked to blare Sublime as we pulled into Dodge and roll down the windows and sing to embarrass me and Laken. He put a scratch in my board before it ever touched snow from dropping it and liked to point out at the end of the day all the new scratches I had given it. Joey was ALWAYS talking about nature when we were on chairlifts. He wanted to know how old all the trees were and imagined everything they had seen in their lives. One weekend we went to Bear Valley with the Naraghis. Joey was on the snowmobile in front of me and he was making it swerve back and forth. I thought it looked cool so I tried and ended up crashing into a tree and a snow bank. I guess that’s what I get for trying to be cool like Joey.

In PIT, Joey and I always talked about our relationships. He would tell me to be nicer to Blake and I would tell him why Laken was mad at him. Joey always told me it didn’t matter what I did, Blake would always like him more than me. I always knew that was true even if I would never admit it to Joey. Joey and Blake had a friendship like no other. They really were “fratellos” from the start. They shared a love of snowboarding, Sublime, Lynryd, and being Italian.
Joey was always trying to make people laugh. We would be in line at a movie or out to dinner and he would randomly accuse Laken of farting. He would do this very loudly so everyone around us would turn around and see who he was talking about. Laken obviously hated when he did this. Another time, the 4 of us went to dinner at Sonic. We were on the way back into town and Blake and I were in our own little world when Joey slammed on the brakes and we went flying. When we asked for an explanation, Joey said there was a cat. From the grin on his face, we all knew there was no cat. Everything that needed an explanation from then on got blamed on “damn cats.” He even tried to make me laugh in church. He sat by me one day and during the Our Father when we slightly lift out hands up, he raised mine as high as my arm would go. I was trying to pull it down but he kept it raised in the air the whole time.

When I was moving away to school, Joey text me to see how I was doing. He asked me if I was planning on joining a sorority. I said I didn’t know and he went on to tell me all about how Adri had been in one, so I would probably like it…A few months later, I joined a sorority. I came home for winter break and was going out to dinner with my sister and Blake when Joey pulled up next to me on First Street. I rolled down my window and Joey came to dinner with us. It didn’t matter that we hadn’t talked in months, it was like no time had passed at all.

This summer was the PIT reunion. I was excited to see Joey there and we got caught up on life. He said he was working and saving up money to buy a house because it was a good time to buy. He said he was going to text me and he did…to ask what Mallory thought about him. I told him she though he was a funny, good looking guy. His response? “Of course she does, everyone already knows that about me.” I saw Joey again at Park Fete and somehow he managed to trip over my foot and spill his entire drink in my hair and all over my face. I wasn’t very happy about it and he kept hugging me until I would tell him it was okay.

I went back to Long Beach a few weeks later and whenever Joey would call Mal, I would always have to say hi. I found it hilarious that he had dated my best friend in high school and was now calling my college roommate. When Toni called Mal to tell her what had happened, we were both in such shock. We ended up sitting on the beach for a long time. On the walk back to out apartment, I noticed a butterfly following us. It was all by itself and followed us the whole way. Since then, there has been numerous times when I have been thinking about Joey and have gone outside to see a butterfly come towards me. It isn’t like there is a butterfly farm outside my apartment; it is always just one butterfly. I like to take it as a sign from Joey that he is okay and for me to calm down. Joey was an amazing friend and I feel blessed that I knew him. I will always remember his smile, his laugh, the way he referred to himself as “Joey P” and him ALWAYS talking about his family. Until we meet again someday, you will always be in my heart my friend.