I am so saddened to find my pal, buddie, Dear Friend here. I looked and looked unsuccessfully for years to find Sam. I was born 5 days before Sam and we used to say how lucky we were to have missed April 1st :) We spent so many hours together - Listening to, Playing at joints, traveling to NYC and Boston to hear the greats of "JAZZ, man JAZZ"
We were first together at HTU! Ellison Field Pensacola Fl - I was sent to sea duty and when I returned I was sent to Cecil Field Jacksonville. When I got off the USS Coral Sea at Mayport Fl --- There he was on the dock ! Sam the Man Pilch. We joined up with a small jazz group - me guitar, Sam on Drums and were there until I was discharged 6/23/56

During the Jacksonville period I traveled home with Sam and stayed for several days in the Bronx - There was nothing like seeing NYC Jazz with Sam - especially with a guy whose dad was a cab driver - Sam had the magic phone number
 just gave a call and Dad showed up and took us on to the next stop.

Here is a inside story - When were  traveling to NY on the train Sam told me he was a little worried about bringing me home because I was not Jewish ! - So he told me he was going to introduce me as Dick Shapiro  That made me very nervous as I am Scotch.  Anyway it was just a ruse and Sam and his mother in their other tongue had a great time with the little joke and on the second morning told me their ploy and it was a great laff for them - a great relief for me!

There was so much fun and so many things to remember - We were walking along B'way and coming towards us was Ed Sullivan - Sam - dragging me right along just waklked right up to him and said " Hi Mr Sullivan I happened to notice you and I was wondering who you were going to have on you show this week - This is my friend Dick and we home on leave fron the Navy for a few days - I figured Ed would would call a cop - but he didn't - he chatted with us for a minute or two - shook hands - and went on his way - and that was just the way it was with Sam - he had big brass one's if the situation callrd for it!

back north after - Navy Discharge 
I was working with a tree removal outfit in Framingham Ma and playing in several of the clubs in the area waiting to get into college in the fall semester.  Sam called one  day - hopped on a train in NY and got off in Framingham.  We spent a couple of days doing the Boston Jazz clubs and Sam went back to NYC

About a year or so later I was married  and on the Thanksgiving weekend after I called Sam and my new wife and I drove to NYC - got together with Bob Mello [another sailor we were with in Jacksonville era] went out for dinner and then to Birdland for the evening - so that is the picture I have and downloaded here.

So we had no place to stay so we spent the night on a matress on the floor in Sam's folks living room - it was fun - first about 2:00 AM in come Sams father who thought it was probably one of his daughters bunking in - woke us up and scared the heck out of us !!  Sam got up and explained the whole thing and we settled down again  -  Then somwhere in the early hours  an elderly man [I think he was Sam's grandfather] came shuffeling along with a string of little pots and things around his neck and also tried to figure out what was going on - It now seems hillarious - I hope you all are laffing ?

After that Sam dropped out of sight and I supposed it was the same for me - college work family - but I never saw Sam again - with the computer age I began looking for Sam everywhere and yesterday hit on this memorial site

There is still the dearest place in my heart for Sam and I am thankful to have at least been able to re-live these thougts here with all of you.

I am now 81 - I do not play Guitar very much - once in a while to sit in somewhere or to amuse myself and sing my wife a song - We are the couple on the left of the Birdland pix

I will be happy to hear from any and all and reminice or answer any questions you may have.

Sincerely, Dick  k1qiz@yahoo.com
 

When I met Sam, you could tell by his build he did something pretty physical in his life, it took me several years to pull it out of him, and even more to get the picture of him doing the lift and this clipping from 1959, notice about 2/3 of the way down, he actually did a new record lift of 245 pounds in the press category.

I remember Sam talking about how he gave Ginger a bath, he'd take her out to the park when the grass was wet. She was so "low slung" the wet grass would just wash off the undercarriage, so to speak. He always laughed about Ginger running the in the wet grass that was about as tall as she was.