Joe

Hi all.  I'm still working on the first big piece of "my goal", but I wanted to get this out tonight.  Two burritos and a liquid-shit later, I bring to you - Joe.

Anyone who knows me well would probably agree that I'm a Taco Bell connoisseur of sorts.  While this isn't something to brag about, there's a TB two minutes away from my job, and another one two minutes from my house.  I like to think that destiny predetermined this fate, and it is my obligation to partake in their beautifully disastrous creations.  That, and I'm a lazy guy in my twenties.

That said, Taco Bell is a place you go to when you're drunk, broke, or hungry maaaannnnnn, and not typically an establishment where you can expect to take away anything more than a bag of food-ish meat paste in a wrap.  But then again, most Taco Bells don't have a Joe. 

Fellow South Daytonians undoubtedly know about this legend already, but for those who don't, Joe is an older gentleman that works at the Taco Bell in South Daytona.  He typically works during "Fourth Meal" at the register taking orders.  You'll know if he's there, because he greets all of his friends before asking what they want to order.  No matter the weather, the amount of time you take, the amount of questions you ask, it's always a beautiful order to Joe.  Sick as a dog and barely able to talk, and Joe will be there smiling merrily as he sincerely wishes you a safe night through a hoarse whisper.

I don't know Joe outside of Taco Bell, and I'm quite sure I've never seen him anywhere else. He could be homeless, alone, and poor for all I know.  I mean, think about it;  he's an older guy working graveyard in a line of work that is often seen as the lowest of low.   It would make perfect sense for this to be a fitting scenario, but I can't be sure that it is.

I can talk to someone random in a bar for five minutes and usually get a pretty good idea of how happy they are with their life (belligerent drunks aside).  Body language, facial expressions, tone, choice of conversation...it's easy if you break it down.  If you need practice, just hop on the ol' Facebook.  I'm sure you'll find someone complaining about something in their life within a scroll or two.  We live in the age of whining, bitching, and misery.

People have become so dependent on such trivial bullshit, they've forgotten that happiness is a state of mind.  When someone surprises you with a gift that you've wanted, that feeling of happiness didn't come pouring out of that box.  Your mind instantly synchronized with a feeling of pleasure before it even had a reason to exist.  If you're happy, it's because you're allowing yourself to feel happy.  If you're unhappy, it's because you're allowing yourself to feel unhappy.  Life is what you make of it, not what you can't make of it.  Smile, and be happy with life because you want to be.   Even if you don't really think the order is beautiful, you just might make someone realize what true happiness is.

Joe, if by chance you ever see this, thanks for inspiring me to be a better person.  This probably seems like a lot to pull out of mere drive-thru interactions, but I promise your magic is there.  Please never change.

-RG

P.S.  If anyone does know Joe personally and know about his personal life, please don't tell me.  Just grasp the fucking message I tried to convey and have a great day mmkay?