Happy Birthday SAM Oliver COOK

FOR SAM

Everyone's given their own road to travel;
The path that they walk in their life.
All down that line, there's good times and bad;
Happiness, sadness and strife.

And it's easy to look at somebody else and think that ain't the way that I'd choose.
But you better think twice before pointing the finger till you've walked awhile in their shoes.
The Lord gives us trials and only he knows the burden one's called on to bear.
From where I stand it seems I've had it easy and others got more than their share.

Sam was one like that with a rough road to travel,
a road a lot tougher than mine;
with twists and turns and up'hills and down and tearing him up deep inside.

when put to the job, he'd keep plugging along;
see it through from the start to the end.
A friend to who knew him, a good guy to know
Things considered a pretty good man.

Thinking back now to when first he showed up
we were watching a hard life begin
Guess it kept getting harder as time traveled on.
Guess the torment in now at an end.

I'm having a hard time shaking it off
Come to grips with knwoing he's gone.
Seems like a big deal, maybe it ain't
Just a guy saying hi to his Mom.

So now were're bunched up and He takes
a head count and we know there's one missing today.
But I know that things will work out in the end.
That the Boss'man just gathered his stray.

Now it's here again the saying goodbye
with the hurting of watching him go.
And we're waving so long with our hearts in our throats
But the other sides saying hello.

-Wade Wilker (Uncle)