Kevin asked me what I wanted to do for Mother's Day. He said "anything you want. It's your day." So of course my response was "visit dead people" Obvi! I started to list out some of the local cemeteries I needed to see and then I thought it would really be cool if we could head up North a bit. I've been dying (no pun intended) to visit Joey Ramone. Much like Nancy Spungen and Gia Carangi, Joey also represents that era of punk rock, freedom, self expression, NYC, CBGBs and good old fashion sex, drugs and Rock n Roll. I always wished I was born 10 years earlier. I just missed my favorite decade....the mid 70's into the early 80's. I was a bit too young to appreciate the energy at the time it was happening, but I did get caught up in it during the late 80s into the 90s. I was retroactively vicariously living in that time through others. If that makes any sense.
Joey Ramone is buried in Hillside Cemetery just over the river from NYC in Lyndhurst, NJ. I was fortunate enough to find exact directions to his grave site on line. The cemetery is huge and there is a separate Jewish section called New Mount Zion. Joey's real name is Jeffry Hyman. He seems to be in a family plot. There were severay Hyman's next to him. The section of their family plot is called "New York Social Club." It was a beautiful Spring day and you can see the NYC skyline from his grave site. I took the whole family with me and then we went over to the city to spend the day. And while I was in the spirit of the Ramones, I also went to the old CBGBs where they started their career. Joey lived around the corner on 2nd Street which was named Joey Ramone Place in 2003. 
Joey died on April 15, 2001 of lymphoma. He battled cancer for 7 years. Although I loved the Ramones music, my fondest memories of Joey are when he was on the Howard Stern show and he fought with Marky Ramone. That was some of the best radio in the history of the Stern show. He still gets many visitors to his grave. There were a ton of stones on top of his headstone (Jewis tradition) and some other trinkets like a Ramones button, bracelet, a seashell, a sticker and some notes. Someone wrote in blue ink pen on his headstone "Gabba Gabba". There was also a lip print in red lipstick where the headstone was kissed. It's good to know he is still loved and missed.
RIP Joey
Gabba Gabba
CBGBs now John Varvatos (He is Howard Stern's favorite designer). He kept the original walls with the stickers and grafitti but everything else is new.
This rock "Joey Lives" has been at his grave site for 10 years. You can see it in early pics.
If you look real close you can see the NYC Skyline
being a former lyndhurt resident,you can also add that the midevil times castle is walking distance away and across the street from the cemertary is the colonial diner were artie lange ,howard sterns sidekick,filmed part of his movie entitled beer laugue.
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