My Artistic Friends Over The Years: Part 11, Joe R.

 

No you are not seeing double. John and Joseph Rubio were twins. Joe on the right became one of my best friends.  We met at Atlantic Richfield, but our friendship continued even after I left that company. Joe was a regular member of our group that met in Jim Tweedy's basement and he was a writer in those days.

Joe and I became best friends over the next several years, getting together with the gang of artists and writers, bowling in a league, playing minister golf in Reading and Chip & Putt in West Chester. I came to look upon Joe as the younger brother I never had and he was looking at me as kind of a mentor.

In 1965, right after President Johnson lifted the exception on married men, I was drafted, but code 1-Y, only to be called up if everyone else was taken. It never reached that point, so I escaped Vietnam.

     Joe was not lucky. He was given a lottery number. He tried to get out of being drafted, even trying to join the Marine Reserves. His family contacted a Congressman, but that came to nought.  Both John and Joe were called up. John ended up in Kansas, I believe, but Joe was sent as an infantry soldier in the army to Vietnam.

    His Platoon leader had his head blown off directly in front of Joe. Joe became the communication guy, a prime target. He was not killed. He won several metals: bronze star with three oak leaf clusters, a battalion presidential citation, five air metals, a Vietnam national metal, and a Purple Heart.

     He was wounded when his platoon was trapped by the Viet Song and had to be rescued out by air. Joe exposed himself to enemy fire so the helicopter could land and pic them up.

     He didn't talk for a while after getting home.

      Joe don't turn to the arts later, but stayed with Atlantic Richfield and moved to Los Angeles when they moved their headquarters there. I haven't heard from him in years. He married a girl named Linda.  ( Joe came from a family who immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba. Joe was one of nine children, him and he twin brother the only boys.)  Joe and Linda had at least two children, both girls. They named the eldest Meredith (Joe, Linda and Meredith pictured 1n 1973.

    Joe and I wrote several things together. such as "Death of a Salesman and Our Town: A Comparison" and "The Executive and the Federalist Paper"

     I started helping Joe write a speech for his class at St. Joseph's University. He wrote the speech, "Warning for Aid", which was on why the state should aid puroprial school. I added on the argument from the public school's viewpoint, how this was aid everyone.  The professor only gave him a C, saying is speech was prejudice against the public schools. How could that be, I asked?  I wrote the view and I'm not Catholic.  I told him I wanted to write his next speech, and I did. 

    I called in "Speech on Speaking" and told him if he gave it, he would either get an F or an A. He got an A. I wrote the rest of his speeches.  

The next one was "Bob Dylan -- Poet". 

 
    I was concerned about when the class would ask questions because I knew Joe didn't follow Dylan, He gave it and got another A. The professor said she agreed, Bob Dylan was a poet. Apparently the Nobel prize committee agreed, since they gave him the prize for literature the last year.

     The finally speech I wrote for him was called, "God Resurrected" where I resurrected the piece I did for the Communicator. He was uncomfortable with it, too, but he got another A and an A- for the class.