Sam lived with Kathlene and me during the last few months of her wonderful life. I was honored and proud that she felt comfortable with us and I personally enjoyed each little moment she and I got to share. Now Sam was quite the fan of the “Trading Spaces” type television shows. She had the Time Warner guide down to memory. She knew all versions and all times for those shows and never did she miss one. Even when she was quite ill she would watch a little. Now we all made sure Sam had full control of the entire house. Whatever she wanted or may need we made sure she had without any worry or concern. This of course included the DVR remote. Quite frankly, I was beginning to have nightmares about a very feminine man screaming about “Moving That Bus”.
So, although I never missed a chance to sit and fellowship with Sam, I really did miss watching the national news. Maybe catching an old Eastwood western or watching Lee Marvin training up some old convicts. I did get to catch about ten minutes of Cool Hand Luke once and felt completely energized for the whole week. In truth, watching TV with Sam was a very powerful experience for me and one I will certainly never forget. Most times it was just a short conversation. Sometimes she would not speak at all but would reach out and pat me on the hand before smiling so bright.
I like to think that was her way of not knowing what to say – but saying more than could ever be said. I like to think she was proud of me. Maybe she knew by taking my hand and giving me that smile, I would understand and be comforted. I did…..and I was.
Now on with the story, I began to notice that when Sam thought she had controlled the TV long enough she would try and give the remote to me or find something manly to watch on her own. This of course would not do and I would just reset the channels right back to Bob Villa or whoever was fixing crap or building a new house that day. I like to think she got a kick out of that. Anyway, one of the big presidential debate things was due on that evening and I had a great idea.
I managed to sneak in and hide the remote before she knew I was even home. After a shot while I started raving about the upcoming show and who I thought would win and why. Now Sam has been alerted that I desire to watch this evening long political thing and begins to frantically look for the remote. She wants to have it all set up when its time. Guess what, she can’t find it because I hid it. I watched and quietly laughed as she looked and looked and looked for what seemed like forever. Now every time I would ask, she would say she was not looking for anything. Sam was a terrible liar.
Finally, I produced the remote and informed her of my evil prank. I got that big, bright beautiful smile again followed by a frail elbow to my gut.
Guess what, per my insistence and her acceptance – we watched that gay guy move that bus again for a nice family in Florida.
