My Brother, Sam
Posted by Pete | Posted in News | Posted on 08-12-2009
6
December 7th. My brother’s birthday. We lost him last December, the 27th I believe. I still miss him very much. I called my sister-in-law, who lives in Alabma, tonight and she asked if I thought Sam enjoyed the Alabama – Florida football game..We both agreed that he did. He loved Bama…I wish he could be here for the National Championship game, to watch it on TV. He was a special guy and he was loved by many, and is missed by many, and especially by me.
Pete,
I agree with your assessment of Sambo. Sambo was probably my favorite cousin even though I suffered from so much kidding from him as I was growing up in Coal Fire. He had a way of kidding in a light hearted way that made one sit up and take notice without getting mad.
Thanks, Errol, I appreciate that. Pete
Uncle,
You know I was thinking of Uncle Sam monday. You & him instilled in me the love of football (Alabama football),that I passed on to my kids and maybe 300 more that I coached in the years. You both helped put my life togather in more ways than you know. Both good men that I am proud to call Uncles
And would do to ride the river with.
Nephew, thanks ever so much. I am proud of you and your family
and thanks for the comments. Love to all you guys. Uncle
As I grow older, it is amazing how the most uneducated and under-educated of my family and friends now seem to be the smartest with the most lasting influence on my life. Sambo was one of those. Although he never finished high school in the regular way (he may have gotten his GED in the Navy or elsewhere), his advice and counsel was always as solid and reliable as a rock. Uncle Shorty (Treetop) was another. I don’t suppose that Uncle Shorty ever finished the first grade and was never able to sign his real name, but he raised five fine kids all of whom seemed to have turned out well (including myself who spent almost as much time at his house as I spent at home). I will never forget his telling of the story of the way he got the nickname of “Treetop”. It was a riot. Too bad it is about to be lost forever. How I wish I could remember the details of that story. He may not have been able to sign his name, but I remember marveling at the way he could shoot a ragged slab through an edger and get a fine looking two by four out the other end, and do it so fast, and keep doing it as fast as my Dad could keep shooting them at him all day long. I suppose a lot of this says something about our school system. We tend to learn so much worthless garbage in that system that we never really learn what is really important. And some say that this wasn’t the “greatest generation”. They were all graduates of the University of Hard Knocks that ran circles around the “pinch hitting dimwits” of the current generation.
Uncle Shorty was one of my favorites as well. He always had a story. Maybe I took after him some….