Character Sketch of Joe Provenzano

Character Sketch of Joe Provenzano had never met Joe Provenzano before, but my husband Jerry had since Joe used to be his boss back in the early '90's. I had heard much about him this particular evening when we were having dinner at a restaurant near Los Angeles because my husband was to have an interview with Joe the next day. Although I had never met Joe, my mental image of him was beginning to form as my husband described Joe as a middle aged Italian engineer, who worked for the Jet Propulsion Laboratories as a Program Manager on an Army simulation contract. I assumed he would be a bit nerdy and intelligent looking. According to my husband, Joe had published his own philosophy book entitled "The Philosophy of Conscious Energy." At this point, I did not know whether to envision him wearing a suit and tie or beads and a head band.

As my husband was describing Joe, I saw a couple enter the restaurant. It was quite surreal as the couple was dressed in old western clothing. It looked like they could have come off the set of a Clint Eastwood film. The man was wearing cowboy boots, complete with bandanna, blue jeans, western shirt, and a cowboy hat. The woman was dressed in a long dress typical of what I have seen in old western films. I pointed the couple out to my husband who turned and looked. The look of surprise on my husband's face was more extreme than I had expected.

I can't believe it. That is Joe Pro," he said. "Hey, Joe, it's me," he shouted as Joe walked past our table.

Jerry, I'm very glad to see you! What are you doing here?" Joe inquired.

We are just spending some extra time in this area to look at housing. The real question is what are you doing and what are you wearing," my husband said.

Oh, we just came back from a shoot-out. I participate in the Single Action Shooting Society where I go by the name Tex Fiddler," Joe said.

How in the world did you come up with Tex Fiddler?," I asked unable to repress my curiosity.

Well, I am from Texas and I love to play the fiddle. It is one of my hobbies," he said.

After this awkward introduction, we invited Joe and his wife to join us for the late meal we were having. Joe seemed very at ease in everything he was doing and saying. He and my husband talked about work, horses, guns and philosophy at the same time. Joe had an opinion on every subject and he always shared it. His infatuation with old western customs was obviously just one of his many different pastimes. Joe Provenzano was definitely a philosopher and Tex Fiddler, the character he invented, was one of his ways to speculate about reality.

Me and my wife like wearing these old western costumes," he said at one point. "This way we can go back in time and experience something else. The more costumes you wear, the more speculations you make about the nature of reality. And this helps us get one step closer to the ultimate truth."