A Laugh a Minute and a Forever Friend

Think really hard about the friends in your life. Think about the one person that you call when you are down in the dumps and all you need to do is laugh. Think of that one person who is crazy as the day is long, but you love him (or her) anyway because it's part of their charm and they remind you what it means to really enjoy life while you can. And then let me introduce you to Sammie. There are days when I could be balling my eyes out or just on the verge of doing so and I'll pick up the phone, call Sammie and say, "make me laugh." He doesn't skip a beat. He can have me laughing within 30 seconds. The first time I met Sammie, I was working in Children's Worship at church. He came in to do the singing part of our lesson. There is one song called "The Devil is a Sly Old Fox" and Sammie was so animated with his singing and interaction with the children that he had me rolling on the floor laughing. I knew then and there that I had to get to know this guy better because I'm a sucker for a good laugh.


Now think really hard of the one person in your life that when you need advice or you just need to talk everything out; to say things outloud to someone and to mull it over and make sense of things. That's the flip side of Sammie. On those days when I call him and ask him to make me laugh, he gladly obliges, but then he'll ask me what's wrong and really get to the heart of the matter. Sammie doesn't care if it takes 5 minutes or 5 hours, if you need him to help you with a problem you're having, he's there for you. Sammie's listened to my problems more times than I can count, but I can assure you that he could give Dr. Phil a run for his money so much so that Dr. Phil wouldn't know what hit him.


He is one of the most caring, lovable, generous, intelligent, and humorous people I know. Some days I wish the entire world were filled with Sammies. Even though people say that a world full of people all the same would make for a boring place, at least we'd all be laughing and feeling well taken care of. So, thanks Sammie for all you do: the laughter, the tears, and the friendship. You're one in a million and I just know that God smiled one of His biggest smiles when he created you. Happy Birthday, my friend.