up your architecture.

Sam departed this morning for Minnesota with Michelle in tow. His goodbye last night ended up being a strange affair due to a STEPS Coalition dinner that many long-termers were attending. Due to this dinner at Hands On was rather sparsely attended and the tradition of saying a little something and then having others speak about your time there was not quite the usual goodbye. In fact, aside from Sam’s speech the whole thing was a bit of a debacle. It’s strange when a tradition you hold to a high standard is no longer a celebrated tradition. What happens to an idea when it is no longer discussed? A co-worker cracked a joke about it last night which I originally thought was sarcastic, but I think that he actually meant that he lamented the same loss that I am feeling about it now. When a long termer leaves, it is has been tradition to go through the aforementioned ceremony of sorts at dinner and then there is a “jersey” dropped which is a Hands On t-shirt with their name or any nickname they may have acquired written on it. I’ve seen so many people come and go, but those names on the wall mean something to those of us that keep that tradition alive, so it really pisses me off when short-termers or N-trips disrespect it. Anyhow, I shouldn’t just bitch so I will say a couple things about Sam that I didn’t say last night and then move long.

Sam is the man behind the man. You may not always see him on the forefront, but he’s right there. One of my professors talked about the Nagano Winter Olympics and how one of the sponsors (IBM) had a slogan “You Won’t See Us, But You’ll See What We Do”. To me, that totally summarized Sam’s presence during his 8 months here on the Coast. He was fine sitting back and letting other people make decisions so long as the integrity of the project was never in jeopardy, but when it came down to it, you could count on him to jump in and lead things out of the woods with a sincerity and gusto that belies his few years in the architectural field. He and the studio had projects here, just like the rest of us that tried the patience and integrity of each and every person working on it and Sam always seemed to be able to navigate those waters with stealth and tenacity that made him a great colleague and friend. For all the time we had a chance to spend together hanging out and working, I don’t know that I realized the frequency with which we were around each other because he’s just a great guy to be around and it seems like it’s only natural to be hanging out. He’s heading back up to Minnesota to finish off his degree by completing his thesis year which he’s already begun work on which stretches back down to the Coast. While he is not sure whether the work will be done in Biloxi or New Orleans, his commitment to recovery issues is one thing that I have never doubted. When he said he was coming back after an amazing trip across the globe early this summer I am sure that some people could have scoffed. I know a lot of people who say that they are coming back and while you may not doubt their sincerity, you certainly may cast doubt on whether or not they will return often. When Sam said he was coming back, I knew I’d see him in July because that’s the type of guy Sam is.

Shit. It’s hard to figure out how to end the rambling that is Sam’s current coastal eulogy, but I’ll end it by saying this. Sam, you’re a hell of a friend, a hell of a designer, and a hell of a good tent-mate. Good luck on the trip up, and I’ll see you in a while. I’ll pour out a Bud water for you brodukes.