Yeah, it pretty much knocked me over when I got the call.
I was thinking they were calling about a parts question or something.
And then, wham!
I knew he went to the hospital over the week-end, but he came home Monday, and I thought everything was okay.
The next thing I know, I get this call this morning from Bret at the shop. I didn't even know what to say. I just sat there looking at the phone.
I mean, this is a guy that I talk to several times a week on the phone, and visit at least once a week. And we sit down at his desk and talk shop and dream up new ideas for the bike and stuff, and I hear all his old racing stories and all that. All the time. For more than a couple years now.
I remember a couple weeks ago, I needed something and he pulled a few strings to get something done for me, and he looked at me and smiled and said, "You know Tom, you're lucky that I'm your friend!", He said that in a joking way, of course. It's because he could get anything done in the racing world, with just a phone call.
I told him, "Well just stick with me Joe. I'm gonna make you famous!"
Ha! We got a good laugh out of that one.
All I can say is that I WAS lucky that he was my friend for over 2 years, and he was the kind of guy that was one of a kind.
As far as I'm aware, my Royal Enfield Fireball project was the last project that he worked on in his life.
Topic: R.I.P. Joe Mondello (Read 4755 times)