Heather K: Jos is in my thoughts daily - I miss him very much. He was the light in my day. It's just not the same here [at developer.webtv.net] without him. But he is still in my heart - and I can often hear some of the things he would say or do. My heart goes to both you and Diane and the rest of the family. Jos loved all of you so very much and it showed here at work.
Whether it be the way he used to come in in the mornings and say
"Are we going to have fun today?...We are going to have so much fun!"- and you know what - it always was when he was around. He made me laugh and think every single day. His curiosity always made other people's curiosity bubble and his good cheer could brighten anyone's duldrums. I know that I feel lucky to have worked and known such a wonderful spirit - and I carry it with me always. We used to hold our meetings outside so we could get some fresh air. We would around this little pond behind 1250 Charleston and talk about all the issues of the day, and we'd usually be laughing at something along the way.
And ya know, there was another story I was just remembering the other day -
when we were watching the video here at WebTV for the first time - someone
said that they didn't recognize Jos the last day of filming - because he was
wearing his pink shirt tucked in. I sorta giggled to myself - because
several months previously - I think it was around his b-day when he turned
25 - I said "you're quite the man now - gotta be lookin' for the ladies" (of
course I said this all jokingly). And then we started joking somehow about
his outfit. I gave him a little lady advice - more in the 'fashion' arena.
And to my shocking surprise - he took me seriously. He even went out to
Mervyn's and bought some new pants. He even started tucking in his shirts.
Needless to say, Rosie and I noticed a change. I don't know if he liked
tucking those darn shirts - I think they went in and out about 10 times a
day - sometimes tuck - sometimes no tuck. It changed with his mood I think.
I have to say though, I think my favorite shirt was the one he bought for
$1.25 that was purple, pink and green and all flowers. He used to match his
t-shirt underneath too.
One morning Jos came in after one of his homemade haircuts that he loved to do. He had missed a few pieces, and I told him that he was starting to look like a hospital patient (kidding of course). We were about to have a meeting - and he asked me to cut his hair - or the pieces that were just grossly obvious during the meeting. I obliged, he threw his workout towel over his shoulders, sat at his desk and we began our meeting. He said it was the best meeting he ever had here at WebTV. Well, geez, I don't know about that - I can't cut hair to save my life! Luckily - I didn't cut off an ear.