I had the pleasure of meeting Joe H a few years back when I worked with the Sea Catch.
I wasn't eager to meet him, as I found his writing to be bombastic, self-aggrandizing, and chock full of hyperbole and definitives instead of opinions.
I envisioned him to be a cranky curmudgeon so obsessed with food that he probably had the depth of a sheet of paper.
In fact, he was an exceedingly likable gentleman. Elegant, wordly, and a most entertaining raconteur. He wasn't a blowhard or braggard, but a very nice man, with an equally lovely wife, whose presence was, dare I say, fun.
I've read the sniping between some on the other boards and Joe, sometimes with a good degree of amusement and sometimes with a good deal of outrage. His writing is very forceful and strong, and he probably is too agressive when his opinions are challenged in cyber space.
But having met him once, and only once, I would be happy to sidle up to Joe H at a bar and spend of few hours drinking wine, talking food, and a whole lot of other stuff. And I bet most here would too.
Brian Reymann
I think I just fell in love....