Hangin' with Sam

            Today was an awkward day.  A good friend of mine Sam, passed away a few weeks ago. He was a refugee from Baghdad, Iraq.  He came to the United States in 1972, gaining his citizenship in 1976.  This man LOVED the U.S.A.  That’s right, for all of you bigots and racists, he was an Iraqi who absolutely loved the United States!!! Even though he was segregated against and belittled for his race, he stood strong to America.  Sam had dated my grandmother until she had passed away in 1987.  Even though she is gone, Sam has remained like a grandfather to my brother and I treating us no different than what a blood relative would.  Long story short, upon his death, I am notified by police that I am basically “next of kin” so it is up to me to plan a funeral.  Mind you Sam had no life insurance, no will, and no money.  So this has been quite an ordeal (I wont go into details)

            Well I finally get the call today that Sams ashes are ready (after a 3 week legal battle).  I think that 28 mile drive to the funeral home was the absolute

Longest Drive of my Life!!!  It’s amazing all of the thoughts that go through your head.  I was not hurting or sad.  It was more of a weird odd unexplainable fealing of the thought that Sam was about to be riding in the car with me.  Bitter sweet….

            I arrive at the funeral home which is a whole experience in itself.  I walk through the doors passing an older gentleman on his way out.  His face was hung low, puffy eyes, red cheeks, you could definatly tell the man was really hurting.  I couldn’t help but wonder “who is it he lost?  Wife…parent…child?  The funeral director who was leading the older gentleman out the door directed me to a waiting area.  Now as if it isn’t bad enough that you are obviously in the building due to the fact you have lost a loved one, they sit you in a waiting area full of these brochures, plaques, plots, urns, pretty much everything they can sell you for a funeral.  That’s not the bad part, the bad part is that pretty much every item was in the thousands of dollars $$$  How depressing can you get.  You have just lost a loved one and now you get to stare at these prettied up mounted objects broadcasting the outrageous cost of it all.  Thank you funeral home, for making the waiting area so comfortable for me.  Anywho the director comes out and takes me to a back chapel where Sams ashes sit up on an alter.  He looks at me and says “There he is, I thank you for doing business with us.”  That’s it?  How awkward!  So I pick Sam up and we head out the door.

            I put Sam in the car, and pull out to begin my 28 mile drive back home.  It was not even a mile down the road when I realized this was bad.  I have an urn in my car in the passenger seat, which is extremely top heavy, and nothing to put it in to stop it from rolling over!  So I do the first thing that pops in my head.  I pull over and strap him in the seatbelt….hey that’s what they’re for right, to secure the passenger (nobody said anything about being alive)!  Now that Sam’s securely fastened in, I hop back on the road.  

            “Hands at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock” I tell myself.  Probably the most alert, safe driving I have ever done!

            My mind begins racing.  I actually speak out loud to Sam.  I wondered weather he could hear me? I wondered even more if he could see me?  Either way, I spoke and occasionally reached out and touched the urn.  I arrive home and carry him upstairs and placed him on a shelf in front of my window.  I do have plans to spread his ashes, but the spot where he wanted them spread will require an indepth covert plan to avoid getting caught.  So until the plans are set, in my window he will stay.  One thing I had not thought about was my son.

            Jake came home from school and looks right at the urn and says “Mommy, is that Grandpa Sam in there?”  !!! How does he know this?  What do I say?

            I am honest and tell him yes.  He giggles and begins to talk to Sam, pulling out his school pictures and holding them in front of the urn showing them to what was once his “grandfather”.  He looks at me and says “Mom at least now we have an angel living with us.”   Talk about CHILLS !  He then turned and went about his normal business, showing no signs of weirdness or uncomfort.  I must say, he was way more at ease with the situation than I was.

            The rest of the evening I have went about my normal business but can’t help but look up at Sam in my window every few minutes and think about him, and where he’s at? Is he watching?  I’m not much of a religious person, so my whole idea of the afterlife is a bit undetermined at this point.

            So I’m gonna spend my week with Sam, while my brother and I plan our covert mission on the spreading of the ashes.  Its been a sad day, yet a feeling of calmness that I have a new guardian angel.  It will definatly be a thought provoking week none the less.

   R.I.P.

Sam Georgesian

1/31/34 - 9/11/10