Joey Johnson (by Bradley )

Joey was a great kid… a great guy. But how do I relate this in a short period of time? What story is the quintessential one that will relate this? I have been praying about this and asking advice from my PK Bros about the opportunity to share and wanted to “do it right”

This is hard because Joey was the sum of many things that made him Joey.

He was a risk taker, as Bill has talked about. This was epitomized by the amazing 80 to 85 foot leap off the cliff at Ki’pahulu. (What is equally as amazing is the Karen watched him do it.) But he never made fun of you if you chose to hang back, and not take “the leap”.

He was very intelligent & smart. Two separate qualities that are not often found in the same person. But he didn’t take advantage of you if you weren’t in the same league as him… accept on the poker table or the Fantasy Football League. He would proudly take my cash whenever we played.

He had a rye sense of humor. This coupled with being intelligent & smart made him a very funny guy. He had the ability to point out the subtle obscurely funny things in life – and did it frequently. Times playing Balderdash at Keanae will live in infamy – Joey was the supreme player! Or if you read his and Rachael’s blog you can see this. But I never saw him make fun of someone at their expense – never being mean spirited.

He was passionate about his beliefs. He would debate those ideals that he felt strongly about. Things like Trojan Football, FF scoring, politics, and God were topics that we discussed. But he’d never go so far as to sacrifice the relationship to be “right.”

He had charisma. He was his father’s son… but he didn’t use it to manipulate.

Joey wasn’t perfect, no one is… but he asked for forgiveness when he needed to (a tribute to his up bringing) and one of the most difficult qualities to posses he had the ability to forgive. There was a time in our relationship that I had deeply offended him, and he forgave me. I believe that forgiveness is the most precious of all gifts that one can give. I am blessed that Joey gave that to me.

Bradley