So Joel lives across a river. He has a refuge / animal sanctuary where he helps animals in need — both domestic and wild. He’s an interesting character. Former motorcycle rider, he told me he called in “well” to work when he was “38”, told his boss he was going for a motorcycle ride, and left for 5 months. He went back to work and tried to resume his duties at the NIH, but it didn’t jive any more for him, so he left permanently and has never looked back.

Joel is now 60-ish, with this wild wild grey Einsteinian hair, and is full of tales of travel and out-of-the-box lifestyle. He can rant as good as by boyfriend Edward, and Joel has definite o-p-i-n-i-o-n-s. Joel has the distinction of being the only person to win a case in the WV superior court *without* being a lawyer! He’s brilliant and argumentative, with an amazingly large heart for all creatures great and small. Oh, and he’s a man’s man with all the boy toys for sure. He asked me if I could stay a day and dig a pond with his bulldozer. I think I’ll back 😉

I had a pet squirrel we rescued growing up…o I fell in love with Crinkles.