Watchlords

Falstaff wrote:The man never had a harsh word for anyone, offered friendship freely and showed more grace under provocation than many could imagine.

This.

I never personally interacted with the man, but I never saw him ever post anything mean sprited.

We tend to continually bash Geeks here, and deservedly so, but he was one of the few for whom one could have at least a modicum of respect. At least his military and public service was real.

koimaster wrote:

bodypeersur wrote:

nous defions wrote:On top of that, to spend so much of one's money on garbage watches. It's crazy.

If you knew Joe at all you would know that he owned quite a variety of watches...not just 'garbage watches'. As for Chief68 and Nismo...who gives a shit?

I seem to remember he owned a Corum Admirals Cup watch at one time.

Yes he did Alain. He had that one with him when we met.

Is that why as of my last check, not Eyal, Turd head, or Skeleton have acknowledged his passing on WG??

koimaster wrote:

mrneddles wrote:The mods at WG made fun of him in a series of messages discovered when they "left the door open" to an admin only chat room. There is a record of that here somewhere.

Cool kids talk about Big Joe

by Admin on Sat 26 Sep 2009 - 17:25


The below comments are not posted for any other reason than to show how comments made behind hidden doors may not be what people post on an open forum. The man referred to here is a hero, a gentleman and a friend to a great many people. My hat is off to Joe.



Watchbear- Did any of you guys see Idiot joes last post? He spelled psychotherapy psco-treapy! What a fool! He needs a good kick in the nutz.

Michael- Will he EVER stop posting here?

Bruce- I hear he has been tutoring LooseCannon on syntax and sentence structure. These guys are such ass-hats I can't even take it.

Jim- He couldn't get a clue in a field of clues, dressed as a clue in mating season. All of these guys are fuzzy bunnies!




As a follow up, they made Big Joe the watchgeek ambassador after he found out about what was said about him.

worth another look........


Jim- He couldn't get a clue in a field of clues, dressed as a clue in mating season. All of these guys are fuzzy bunnies!

".... as active as possible..."

I am well aware of his medical conditions as they were made clear in the past. So, "as possible" may have been, for Joe, a bit more than his forum activities encouraged and very likely much more healthy than sitting around.

Dr.Morningwood wrote:Is that why as of my last check, not Eyal, Turd head, or Skeleton have acknowledged his passing on WG??

I'm sure it is. Joe may not have mastered the english language but he had more class and compassion than those 3 douchebags have combined.

I will not post the several hate mails I have received this morning, all of which accuse me of hating Joe and lying about my being in contact with him and with Bruce regarding the posts insulting him so:


Original Message ----------
From: stealthsafety@
To: <>
Subject: APOLOGY
Date: Sun, 5 Apr 2009 20:41:57 -0400



Alain;

I just wanted to personally apologize for what happened last week. There is absolutely NO justification for what was written, regardless of how or why it was disclosed. I have spoken to Big Joe, and would have called you, but do not have your numbers. Big Joe told me you and he had spoken, thank you.

Unfortunately, at times the worst of human nature is disclosed behind what would be perceived to be "closed doors". Although it is little consolation, most of us have said things in executive boardrooms and command offices that should never have been stated and never leave the assumed confines.

Regardless, I am ashamed and sorry for the communications you received. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why people would do that but it really doesn't matter; I/we really fucked up!

Honestly, there is nothing else I can say. I am currently stuck in Wytheville VA at a Hampton Inn, halfway between Pennsylvania and South Florida; my brand new Jeep Commander died on I-77 and had to towed to the nearest Chrysler dealership.

Hopefully, I will be back on the road tomorrow. Please feel free to call anytime after 8:30 AM tomorrow if you desire.

Once again, please accept my sincerest apologies.

Bruce



And from the SEAL himself
: Mongo Kid
To : Alain <>


Subject : Just wanted to let you know...

Date : Sat, Apr 04, 2009 10:17 AM






The ownership team has spoken to Joe about what happened and made him aware of alot of information that was not communicated to him. Additionally, he is going to be given a special position with the admin team and be given full moderator access to the behind the scenes areas of the forum to interact with us as a part of the team as well as be able to see all of the things that go into running the forum.

We have not announced that yet and should be within the next couple of days. I just thought you would like to know.

Michael

koimaster wrote:I will not post the several hate mails I have received this morning, all of which accuse me of hating Joe and lying about my being in contact with him and with Bruce regarding the posts insulting him so:

It's killing those morons that the "haterz forum" is showing nothing but respect and compassion for a man that their dear leader-ship scorned and ridiculed.

They deserve Watchgeeks and Watchgeeks deserves them. Big Joe deserved better.

Great thread: Guys like Big Joe get taken for granted. They serve their country, harm no one, and treat others with respect that wasn't shown to them. WG wake up. Your supporting a team of losers with your Value Pay Dollars.

Great man. We need more like him. Thanks for you service Joe. RIP

danimal wrote:Great man. We need more like him. Thanks for you service Joe. RIP

Indeed we do, Indeed.

Truly, it is sad indeed that he was treated as such behind his back by the folks at WGs. That was unknown to me and makes me even the more glad I left there when I did.

I never really knew Big Joe, and only spoke to him once. He always seemed like the kind of guy who would do anything he could for anybody. RIP Joe.

spanky1 wrote:Great thread: Guys like Big Joe get taken for granted. They serve their country, harm no one, and treat others with respect that wasn't shown to them. WG wake up. Your supporting a team of losers with your Value Pay Dollars.

Well said.
Watchbear- Did any of you guys see Idiot joes last post? He spelled psychotherapy psco-treapy! What a fool! He needs a good kick in the nutz.

Michael- Will he EVER stop posting here?

Bruce- I hear he has been tutoring LooseCannon on syntax and sentence structure. These guys are such ass-hats I can't even take it.

Jim- He couldn't get a clue in a field of clues, dressed as a clue in mating season. All of these guys are fuzzy bunnies!

These cunts are absolutely beneath contempt.

Big Joe has been my friend for many years. A lot of us former WG's myself, Duffy, and Alain included, new him well. He suffered heart rhythm problems and other health issues as a result of responding to 911. Joe and I spoke nearly ever Sunday for years. He would call and we'd talk about which watch he had just purchased or he'd inquire about how my wife and kids were doing. Joe never had anything bad to say about anyone. He may not have been the most savvy person on the net but I can guarantee he was the most decent and honest soul I have ever met. I'd like to thank Alain for what you did for Big Joe back at WG's. Shows the true measure of a man.
REST IN PEACE JOE.....i WILL MISS YOU!!!

duker wrote:Big Joe has been my friend for many years. A lot of us former WG's myself, Duffy, and Alain included, new him well. He suffered heart rhythm problems and other health issues as a result of responding to 911. Joe and I spoke nearly ever Sunday for years. He would call and we'd talk about which watch he had just purchased or he'd inquire about how my wife and kids were doing. Joe never had anything bad to say about anyone. He may not have been the most savvy person on the net but I can guarantee he was the most decent and honest soul I have ever met. I'd like to thank Alain for what you did for Big Joe back at WG's. Shows the true measure of a man.
REST IN PEACE JOE.....i WILL MISS YOU!!!

In talking with Joe over the years I only heard him once talk disparagingly about anyone and that person was Mongo Kid. Joe was not as plain or a simple as he had been portrayed as.

SloMo wrote:Joe was not as plain or a simple as he had been portrayed as.

You hit the nail on the head there. Yep, he may not have been an English major but the man had street smarts and common sense. Match that up with his compassion and you have an all around nice guy. He knew how much I hated Geekville and what I thought about the assholes that ran it. We talked about what went on behind closed doors at watchgeeks and how they talked about him. As you said, he wasn't as plain or simple as he had been portrayed.

For those wishing to send cards:

Joseph Rodriguez
P.O.B.512
Coram, NY 11727

Joe came to a gathering we had in Raleigh, NC in 2010. Was very nice in person and seemed to really like his ongoing and weekly interaction with many many many other watch collectors he met through the forums and his very active participation on WG in particular.

I wanted to bump this up since Big Joe was a genuine person having spoken to him a couple of times via phone. I did not see a reminder of his death elsewhere so Watchlords will honor the date this year. Next year perhaps someone else will be the first to do so.

I too was able to speak to him on the phone a few times and share messages (we were both involved with the same charity). Extremely nice man and generous with his time

http://suffolkfdrant.com/showthread.php?8624-Coram-FD-Life-Member-Joe-Rodriguez

Glad I saw this- Big Joe was the kind of man those defective douches live as if they are. Never had the pleasure of meeting or talking to him other than a few PM's- I had an uncle who was in charge of the Denver Fire Department's Firefighter/Paramedic Program (I was a Paramedic as a kid out here at his encouragement and lasted about 10 minutes- I hated it) and we corresponded a few times about EMS and what chased me out of it (the smell) and I related a few stories of my Uncle's about what a pain in the balls it was to be a firefighter in the Winter. His genuineness and love of people was apparent in just those few cursory communications. We talked tech/movements once- he liked the coaxial and had some great watches as I recall- Corum, Omega, Hamilton, Ball and some old pocket watches. He never wanted to flaunt them there and he gifted God knows how many watches to the WG membership. I was always sorry I didn't hang out at that horse-shit board long enough to meet him. Still am.

a reminder why this forum stands above others, honoring someone who was not a member here but was a 9/11 first responder and WIS, watchgeek or not.