JANUARY 13TH MEMORIES
1月
14日
Drawn by Kirin to remember Grandpa today on his birthday. There are also 13 layers of the cake and yellow was Sam's favorite color.
In 1971 we decided to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary with a trip to Japan. We needed a copy of Sam’s birth certificate for the visa. We went to the King County Vital Statistics office on 4th Avenue and were amazed to find all the 1s & 3s: born on 1/13/33, Friday the 13th, at 3am, at 1303 Washington Street, Mother 23, Father 33.
Sam said, “I only had one party when I was 13 years old.” In 1964 I planned a surprise party when he turned 31. Those are the only two birthday parties he participated in as far as I know. I brought sushi to Dr. Branch's office in the Medical Dental building, one year as a surprise. We could not get Sam to come up to the eighth floor to participate. When David Branch went down to get him, Sam locked his lab door on the fourth floor and through the door said, “I said I didn’t want a party so leave me alone.”
I’m further in the mood to play a Johnny Horton CD with songs like NORTH TO ALASKA & BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS that was a Sam favorite.
ALL FOR THE LOVE OF… “Life was so sweet dear… you’ve gone and left me. All for the love of …”
Horton died at age 35, but left a legacy of his love for freedom, bravery, heroics in the building of our country. One of Sam’s last comments when asked, “What are you most grateful for today?”
His answer, “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Today, Sam’s brother and sister are coming over. Lynette is here. We can do what we want with his memory. He would have been 85 years old. Eight and Five add up to thirteen?????
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