The singer and the song.

The tears…

Joey was special. Joey was kind. She posted this video, I suppose, to help her gain closure. People need closure, though I’ve never understood why. I have a shell. Things don’t get to me. In truth, I’m pretty sure that I developed this shell because I’m weak. I find it hard to deal with feelings. Perhaps only the strong cry.

Joey wrote this song for her brother who was killed in an automobile accident. As I understand it, her brother, Justin, was somehow pinned. It conjures to mind a scene I’ve seen somewhere in my past where a man is pinned between a truck and a telephone pole. Somehow, all parties know that if freed, the man will die. This was the case with Justin. I’ve never gotten the specifics, but I do know that a Tennessee State Trooper made the decision not to separate Justin from his confines, as to allow the family to say goodbye.

Damn.

 

 

I discovered Joey and Rory on YouTube. They had a hit single that I think was also played on the radio and CMT. The title of the song  was “Cheater, Cheater” and it showed both Joeys’ voice and passion for music, as well as her personal beliefs. Everyone is familiar, or at least should be by now, with the prototypical southern values. We don’t look highly on infidelity. Joey, it seems, was able to both clarify and express her values in a way that wasn’t brow beatingly Sunday morn. If you’d like to hear it, I’ll post it below.

 

Joey wasn’t fake. She believed in the truth, and I’m not sure she ever lied. We all do as children, but once she cemented the idea of right and wrong in her head, she never wavered. Many of her childhood friends have come forth to testify to that, along with family members. I’m pretty sure she was easy to love. I say that because I have a good girl of my own.

She even sang about it. You can hear it here.

https://youtu.be/xzHpYyB_F3U?list=PLeF-5qmNt3LeIpaGblQdUCByrV7u_2zBt

My girlfriend grew up in Wyoming, and always reminds me that there are good girls out there too. Sorry if you thought I was restricting those small town values to the south. J  Here is my favorite song by Joey. If you understand what I’ve said so far, this song will resonate with you too.

Joey was on the path to stardom. Good husband, good life and writing/singing music wherever and whenever they could. The public responded. Guest appearances on “Can you Duet”, and other shows only proved the point. There was true talent here. Not that shoe shine polish Ke$ha, or Milli Vanilli type crap. She was the real deal…what so many artists lack today is that they are a marketable act, not a desirable, whole person. Joey would just step on stage and say “here I am” with her music. We all loved her for it.

Then she got sick.

It would figure. This world has a way of, much akin to water, seeking its own level. You can’t be this good in the world. It’s too far out of the norm. In a world filled with greed, lust, envy and sloth. Shit, didn’t John Lennon die, but that wretch standing next to him is still here? Nope, you can’t be young, pretty, responsible, caring, compassionate AND talented! No ma’am, you’re asking for too much.

…so many tears.

On October 26 2015, Joey made the decision to stop treatment and enjoy every second of life she had left. Ever driven, she set goals to the end. She wanted to spend the holidays with her family, (knowing they would be her last) and also Valentine’s day. She desperately loved her husband Rory, and he loved her just as much. Lastly, she wanted to see her daughter, Indiana, turn two. Indiana is the little one you see in the pictures above. She was Joeys’ only child.

She made it.

One of Rory’s last blog posts details how Joey, ever the consummate beauty, said she was so grateful for the length of time she’d been given.

Oh my god the tears…

 

It seems that we have been granted a choice, or that I’m greedily grabbing at one, when it comes to death. I’m not good at it. Even now, as I bite back the tears that would drop on my keyboard, I’m looking to greener pastures. Sorry Joey, I’m not strong enough to cry. My heart is broken because I have the song, and not the singer. This is how I choose to remember you…