Remebering Joe Perrone

About three and a half years ago a friend of mine Dave Larsen died suddenly and a short time later I was among several of his buddies who got together to toast his memory. All of us had been friends from our days at Ocean County College but only Joe Perrone and I knew Dave before that as the three of us went to Central Regional High School together and also worked for my father on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights. The night when we gathered to tell “war stories” was when we officially decided to start our own “Bucket List” in which we go on an annual sports-related junket…just a bunch of guys for a few days reliving the past.

The first trip was to Milwaukee and Chicago in the summer of 2008 as we saw the Brewers and Cubs play baseball and enjoyed the stadiums and cities and just being in each other’s company with plenty of laughs and good times. During that trip we decided to hold a random drawing to see who would plan the next adventure and it turned out Joe’s name was selected.

Perrone would have several months to make a decision and we were all pretty happy when he chose Boston for the summer of 2009. Being that he was retired from the Howell Police Department Joe had enough time to plan the itinerary which of course would center on Fenway Park. While most of the guys in our group were Yankee fans we circled in on a July trip when the Orioles were in Boston. Joe “The Horse” was responsible for all the planning and reservations and basically just had to tell everyone where to be and how much it would cost. So imagine the reaction of our group when on the plane we learned that there was one thing he did not secure….tickets to the games.

Of course Joe was convinced we would have no problem scalping tickets because the Orioles were lousy. To make a long story short we had a great time in Boston, visited many taverns, took a tour of Fenway Park and never saw a game in person. Needless to say we busted him pretty good and last year when 7 of us did a spring training trip to Tampa it was still a subject that was visited time and time again. Bottom line was Joe knew the Boston trip would haunt him the rest of his life. However little did anyone know that life would end suddenly this week at age 55. Today I and many of his friends will gather at Anderson & Campbell in Toms River to say goodbye to a man with a great sense of humor who always put a smile on your face. He leaves behind his wife and love Barbara, sons Kyle and Gabe and six brothers and sisters. He also joins his friend Dave Larsen to form a comedy duo in heaven than can rival Abbott & Costello and Laurel and Hardy. Now the half-dozen of us left from “The Bucket List” group have to decide on our next move…maybe we should go to Boston again and this time actually see a game in Fenway Park. “Yo Bro,” can you help us get tickets this time?