You've gotta hear Sam say it in his stentorian voice to get the full effect, but he is over the cold he had earlier last week. I wasn't able to visit for long, but he's hanging in there, as he always does. :-)
Sam: October 2005 Archives
Sam's sister Edith sent this to him via email:
WHY WAIT UNTIL 2008? THERE IS AN ELECTION IN 2006. I HEREWITH FIRMLY STATE THAT I WILL NOT VOTE FOR ANY POLITICIAN, REGARDLESS OF THE OTHER ISSUES, IF HE OR SHE DOES NOT SPONSOR AND SUPPORT THIS LEGISLATION. THAT INCLUDES EVERYONE STANDING FOR ELECTION IN 2006.
LET US SHOW OUR LEADERS IN WASHINGTON "PEOPLE POWER"AND THE POWER OF THE INTERNET. LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE WITH ME ON THIS BY REPLYING AND FORWARDING TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK.
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT!
Sam says, "If I wrote a book it would be divided into chapters by my siblings. Clara, first, then Theodore (Ted)..." then his memory gets fuzzy, which one is next? :-) How many siblings were there? Sam was "the youngest of 12."
"Part of it would be poignant. One child was dead at birth, before Clara. The other boy lived until he was two. I didn't know them, of course. Born before my time. I was not close to anybody except Clarence.
"Next was Adam. Clarence. Anna. Ann is still alive. We called her Ann, her name was Anna. Her middle name was Rosie. Anna Rosie. Herman, and Edith, who's not dead. Sam, the author. I've been thinking about the book for a long time.."
(I only count ten people...)
"Renhald and Ruben, they were twins, they go after Ted." (We're not sure how to spell Reinhald!)
I brought pate and gorgonzola on pumpernickel bread with hazelnut coffee, but Lee and Greg outstaged me by taking Sam to the Harvest Festival at the Putney School. Way to go! Sam had a blast. :-) Lee wiggled the car into position so Sam could visit with folks. He saw Toby Young (who was in politics at one time), Amy, Ann Quest, Jim (of Jim & Carol), Peter Dixon, and Evan (who is now a senior; Sam is still way proud of the photos Evan superimposed of Sam and some of his favorite places in Putney when Evan visited Sam for his community service project through the high school).
Also, Sam saw Steven Anderson, Karen Gustafson, Evan's mother Leslie (who used to work at SIT), Linda (a friend of Karen's), also Karen Blanchard and Debbie (a friend of Lee's).
Someone said fall is ten days behind schedule, this story says it's coming along now with a flourish. But we've had extraordinarily warm weather lately, and one of the mildest falls I can recall. An extended summer, really. Some trees have started to change brilliantly but most are still green. Sam says they drove up by his place - it looked the same except they've put curtains up in the windows.
Wes has actually been reading back through the posts about Sam. They go back a couple of years now (!). I just read one of the very first ones to Sam (maybe it is the actual "first" one) - "Ah.....my main man is back!"
Sam says, "I spent more time thinking about death then than I do now." That first year we talked about it alot, but then Sam "adapted. I got adjusted." Wes asks, "What put Sam in the nursing home?"
"Well," Sam says, "I was driving to Keene. A woman who's since died was in the car with me. I realized that I couldn't drive carefully enough. I put myself in Eden Park. It has trees on both sides. I can see them looking out my window. I went to Vernon Green, and they didn't have trees. Thompson House also didn't have visible trees.
"I have a large room with a large window. The walls are covered with paintings and photographs. More paintings than photographs." (Sam calls the photographs his "Rogue's Gallery.")
