I struggled to explain this to my wife, why it was a big deal. Best I could come up with was that Sam was John Lennon and Elvis. Sam was Miles and Coletrane. Sam was Scorcese or Kurosawa. Sam was Picasso or Warhol. He was Jim Henson and Graham Chapman, Faulkner and Salinger, Kerouac and Hemingway, all wrapped into one.
There are other "name" woodworkers, some who do amazing work, but for me the Sam was always the rock star of the bunch.
Iconic, enigmatic, intensely talented. Did things differently and found beauty in places others hadn't.
I'm sad that I never got to meet him. I'm sad that I've never seen one of his pieces in person. But I could sit and look at the lines of one of his rockers and be mesmerised.
The world is a lesser place without him. In Requiescat Pace.
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