The King of Sampson Avenue

Most people I talk to think I have the worst job in the world. Sometimes it is tough, but most of the time, such as today, I would not trade it for any other.

We had a funeral service for an mentally handicapped gentleman who had spent his entire life under the care of others. The past thirty were with the same organization. When I was making the arrangements for this service with a few of the directors of this group, they shared with me some stories about this man. From what they conveyed, I knew he was someone very special to them.

I asked if they expected a large attendance at the service, considering it was not going to be advertised in the newspaper. They informed me that there would be a considerable number of people there. They were right.

At 2 pm, people started to arrive. Honestly, I was surprised by the numbers. There was a large group of fellow residents of the various homes he lived in over the years as well as a great number of caregivers, both past and present.

The funeral home was filled when the service started thirty minutes later. It began with his favorite song. I don't remember the name of the song, but Vince Gill was the artist. Some of his friends were singing along. Under ordinary circumstances, the singing that occurred would be unwelcome, to put it nicely. But in this setting, it was beautiful.

When the song was over, the director of the organization said a few prayers and invited others in the room to come up and share their stories. They referred to him many times as "The King of Sampson Avenue", which is the name of the street he lived on.

I was amazed at the number of people who got up to share a story. Both caregivers and friends came up and relayed how this man touched their lives. The feeling of love that poured out of these people for him was immense. The recurring theme was that he truly loved everyone he came in contact with, and that the feeling was reciprocated by all he met.

As I stood there observing from the back of the room, I couldn't help being overcome with the emotion as it swept through like a giant wave. My eyes welled up beyond my capacity to hold the tears back, and I had to leave. Thank goodness I didn't have to direct anything because, at that point, I don't think I could have.

The service ended with Dean Martin's rendition of "That's Amore", and slowly some of the people started to leave. The somber look that everyone walked in with was gone and replaced by smiles and tears of joy. It was as if all at once, everyone came to the realization that he was finally at peace, and although they'll miss him terribly, he was in a better place.

You see, you don't have to be a well-known politician to have a positive affect on the lives of others. You don't have to be magnate of industry or a famous actor to make the world a better place. Sometimes, all you have to be is the King of Sampson Avenue.