Joe, it nice to hear about ole Sam again. It's been over 23 years since I last saw him. His so-called troubles were at their acme and he had just applied to go back to work at Scripps. He stopped giving concerts (as they are usually defined) and two or three times a month would perform in the public libraries of Anaheim, Fullerton and towns south to the boundary of San Diego. What a great interpreter of traditional music. A memory that I'll cherish forever has to with his old Washburn. During an intermission, I walked over to see it -- a really beautiful old thing. Sam saw me looking and broke away from the group to whom he was talking, and came over. We talked about the guitar and then he invited me to try it. What a sound, even with my cast iron fingers !! Yep Sam was a good'un.

LesBlank