David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 27 Dec 2009 5:35 am |
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No, Sam wasn't a steel player,
but he had many of the best on his iTunes,
and loved music with steel on it.
He knew of Buddy, John Huey, Jimmy, Speedy and Paul Franklin, and many others
and listened to about 40 of my steel albums while he was working.
He saw my Sho-Bud and insisted I play it for him.
He was a hard drinking/hard loving southern good ole boy,
with a way with the ladies, who liked his larger than life way about him.
And he was a "master wood joiner" of amazing technique.
Traveled all the USA building custom wood frame rooms.
Hand him 150 year old barn beams and he would build a showplace room.
Sam was staying at my place for 2+ months, as part of the family,
and was building some of my rooms for me,
while looking for a permanent position on the island.
He could sheet rock a ceiling in odd shapes and angles
with little wastage, and do it alone with little breakage.
He had been planning to build me a D-8 lapsteel and also
some assorted custom racks and such for the studio.
As well as walls, trim and corners for the acoustics stuff.
Sadly while driving home Dec 1st, on the newly laid, unlined,
wide blacktop main road, some drunken idiot Thai kid
came into his lane on his bike doing 100+km and hit him head on bike to bike.
Sam apparently caught the kid and both bikes in the chest.
Dispite being a man mountain of 6'5" 275lbs strong
he succumbed 30 hours or so later. I saw him the
next morning and thought he would make it, but he was
transfered to an different hospital, and I guess they dropped the ball...
Stupid kid lived, with 2 broken legs and an arm.
Police say it was the kid's fault 100% and his parents
say, we have no money, just send him to jail.
I won't go into details about Embassy and family issues,
just to say he is still awaiting in the freezer after 3+ weeks,
and nothing is being done except throw aspersions at
myself and his two 30 year friends here, formerly trying to help out. Now just fed up.
I was originally intended as 'designated signer out' person,
and we had a cremation ceremony and a nice good bye planned.
C'est la vie.
Also there was some 'old world' worries about
'his spirit coming for his belongings in the night'...
So it is not without some household relief that the
embassy
finally picked up his things last Tuesday.
It's been a rough December, but I could have been worse....
In any case we will miss Sam.
_________________
DLD, Chili farmer. Plus bananas and papaya too.
Real happiness has no strings attached.
But pedal steels have many! |
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