..I am planning a party and inviting the whole town and I would like you to organize it and start the bon fire...
For any of you that knew my friend Sam this would make perfect sense. I went to Troy University with a wonderful guy named Sam. Sam was a friend of mine. He wasn't my best friend or close friend but he was my friend. Sam and my roommate Rachel are cousins and were close friends. It is a funny story on how they figured out they were cousins. Rachel was working at the local Shoneys and Sam came in with a group of friends one night and low and behold they struck up a conversation and found out they are related. After that night, they became the best of friends. I can understand why- they both have very similar caring and funny personalities makes perfect sense to me!
Sam was built like a linebacker but had the heart of a Teddy Bear. Everyone knew him on Troy University Campus and everyone liked him. He lived at the "Trainers House". Sam and his roommates threw the best college parties! The whole campus was invited and most students attended. There was no party like a Trainer Party organized by Sam and his crew. His parties were legendary and I am sure still talked about to this day. They sorta remind me of the party on "Sixteen Candles" were Long Duck Dong is riding the bicycle with the chick with braces.
Like many wonderful people Sam was gone way before the world felt he should be. I think of Sam daily and I am not sure if it is because I live near the beach and it reminds me of the diving accident he was in that paralyzed him or Is he my guardian angel? If he is my guardian angel I am one lucky girl because Sam has that personality that would laugh at the twist and turns you take in life but he would finally move you in the right direction. But like I said there were many people that were closer to Sam than me. I imagine he is quite the popular guy when people are looking up to heaven asking for someone to look over them. He had a wealth of friends and good friends at that!
Sam's terrible diving accident happened our junior year of college. It was devastating to his close friends and family and anyone who knew him. But Sam didnt let it break him. With the support of his Wonderful family he chugged forward with his life and didnt feel sorry for himself. Sam enrolled back into school, his mom took a leave from her job and went to class with Sam and took notes. The only complaint I heard out of Sam is that he couldn't read his mom's handwriting.
Sam was an extremely athletic guy. I do not know of a sport the guy couldn't play. I took a weight training class with him and he carried me through the course. Being paralyzed from the neck down is heartbreaking to anyone but to be so athletic one day and not the next is just something I cant imagine.
Complications from Sam's injury took his life a couple of years later. Sam's mom became my hero when she took a leave of absence from her job to help her son to finish pursuing his dream of graduating from college. But Sam's mom took on A "God Like" status in my eyes when she gave the most inspiring and heartfelt eulogy I have ever heard. Through her grief, she stood before a huge crowd and told funny stories about raising Sam. The audience roared in laughter through their tears. I cant imagine the strenght it took for her to push her grief to the back of her mind and focus on the good times she had with Sam. I have only met his mom twice. But if I ran across her again I would tell her how much I admire her and that I plainly see where her son got his zest for life! I am sure she would not take any credit and she would say "this is what I had to do for my son" or something very similar.
I do believe we all have guardian angels and I want to believe that Sam is mine even though he might be busy guarding over other people. I also know that in my mind he was taken to soon. But I do feel that God might have needed a Party Planner in Heaven and he knew Sam would be the perfect choice. The thought of him party planning in Heaven brings me peace and makes me look forward to meeting up with him again. I have a feeling that he is multi-tasking in heaven. He is greeting you as you are standing at heaven's gate. Then when you receive the all clear he hands you a glass of wine and an invitation to the meet and greet held later that night after everyone gets checked in. That is how I want to visualize his life now. All the same planning, greeting, and inviting just in a different place. This is my blog of the day... With Love, Bamaslammer
3 comments:
great post!
This is rather touching. It really makes you think.... life is too short.
If you had only had the pleasure of meeting him. I had to post about him I couldnt get him off my mind. The accident happened over 10 years ago. But it was so bizarre there are times that I didnt think about him for a long time maybe years and then all the sudden I am thinking about him constantly and waking up in the middle of the night thinking about him and I would be so sad. When I finally posted about him it was like I was released and my memories are not sad now I think of the happy times.
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