My friend Colt sent me this picture a few days back, and I haven't really been able to even look at it until just today. Something about it seems so iconic of my brother - the way he was able to bring everybody up when he was in a good mood. This was taken as we were driving to Concan, TX for a trip about a year ago. My friends and I have driven to Concan to camp and 'tube down the Frio river for three years, but when asked if we should make a repeat this year, I found that I just couldn't do it. It didn't feel right, without Sam.
What's funny is I had to practically fight him to get him to go on this trip every single year. He never wanted to do it for some reason. I would lure him in, tell him he could invite any of his friends that he wanted, coerce him by declaring that he didn't have to pay for anything, and finally he'd just give in and go. He never invited anyone, and he inevitably paid for himself, and he had a stupendous time, every time. Even the second year, when I tried to "rough it" by renting out a cheap camp site and sleeping outdoors in a tent (did I mention we went in mid-August?) during an extreme drought, Sam laughed off the heat and joked about how we spent our vacation dragging our butts across a rock-bed for roughly eight miles. He loved it, and I was always happy he came.
Next summer, I think I will be very game for a trip back to Concan. I'd love to rent a cabin (the only way to go) and relax for a whole week with friends. Concan without Sam, though? Like so many other things in my life that I'm used to doing with him, it's going to take an adjustment.
--Lee
Today is Sam's birthday, for anyone who doesn't know. He would have been 24 years old today - just one more year advanced enough to annoy me with attitude, but a year I'm going to miss, nonetheless. This would be the day when I would normally look forward to ice cream cake and barbeque, but tonight I'm just going to sit in introspection, and maybe watch an old "B" movie in Sam's honor.
