Since July 2012, there has been a JoePa statue-sized hole in my heart. Thankfully, that gap has been somewhat filled thanks to a new miniature replica.

Now, you might be asking yourself, “How could you possibly get one of those?” Well, I will tell you how, my friend.

Last Sunday, me and fellow Onward State editor Gabe Angieri headed into McLanahan’s Penn State Room to get some groceries. As Gabe was at the checkout counter, I laid my eyes upon the miniature statue. Once I made my way over, I got flashbacks of when I visited the real statue as a child. It was then that I decided that I needed to make the purchase.

You might now be saying to yourself, “Wow. This kid must be a fool to waste money on a replica of a statue.” I may be a fool, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime purchase! In fact, this $189 beauty was actually crafted by the real statue’s original sculptor Angelo Di Maria.

Once the statue took its place on my desk, I felt that I still needed to get my money’s worth. So, I decided to take it on a tour around campus with Gabe.

Of course, we needed to take little JoePa to the site of the original statue. It was a very somber moment, as Gabe and I stood on Porter Road and shed a tear over the fallen original statue. On the bright side, the mini statue looked good in its big brother’s old stomping grounds.

Then, we moseyed our way down to the corner of Porter Road and Park Avenue to the Pennsylvania State University sign and admired the fantastic view of Beaver Stadium.

After we left the sign, the statue and I went over to Penn State’s Berkey Creamery to get some ice cream. I went with chocolate chip cookie dough, but mini JoePa was in the mood for some Peachy Paterno.

People may have judged me when they walked by me eating ice cream with a statue, but me and mini JoePa had a great time and even shared some laughs.

As there was still more time before the day ended, Gabe and I decided to take the statue over to the Paterno Library. It’s not that common to have a library named after a replica of a statue, so we thought it would only be right to take a picture of mini JoePa in front of the sign.

We then walked toward Rec Hall and found that nobody was around the Nittany Lion Shrine. We snapped some photos at the beloved landmark and played Simon Says.

After we left the shrine, I knew my day with mini JoePa was coming to an end, so I wanted to finish on a high note. I went down to the store and purchased a six-pack of Blue Stripe beer to prepare a romantic chill vibe as we shared a cold one. I decided to take the statue to a place where you can see all of State College and more. As we got off the elevator, we saw a picture of mini JoePa’s big brother. We just had to take a picture.

Mini JoePa and I both admired the beautiful view from the roof, as we shared a cold one together to cap off our time together. I couldn’t think of a better way to finish the day with my new friend.