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(click to enlarge, and forgive the time/date stamp which I have no idea how to get rid of once it's there)

The kids packed up, ran around like crazy, went out the night before, worked all night, slept almost not at all, dragged everything downstairs to the Container (a room-sized metal structure sitting on the back of a tractor-trailer; which had to be filled between 8 and 10 a.m.), sealed the Container and sent it off to be loaded on the ship and have it carried over to Croatia.

Two hours later they discovered that their passports were still in their desk. Which was in the Container. Which was now heading for the ship.

After heroic attempts to track down the container on the docks, they realized they were stuck here at least for the holiday weekend.

For Mary and I it was a bit of a reprieve. We had the pleasure of Sam actually living in our home...

So with luck they'll get out of here tomorrow.

Meanwhile, in trying to figure out how to help Sam remember us, someone recommended making photo books for him. Using small photo albums, with one pic and text on each page, I did up the first one. With Sam still here it was sheer pleasure: Mary had him illustrate each page with his lovely squiggles.

Sam and Grandpa
Visit the
Museum of Natural History
(Illustrated by Sam Smithyman)

One morning
Sam woke up
And said Good Morning to Grandma

Grandpa said
Let’s go to the
Natural History Museum
but first Sam had to change his clothes

Then they both
Went to the Subway station

Sam swiped his
Metro Card through the turnstile

Sam said
“There’s our subway train”

When they got to the Museum
The first thing they saw
Was a HUGE dinosaur
That reached all the way
To the ceiling

Sam looked very small
Next to the HUGE
Dinosaur

In the Display Cabinets
Were lots of different animals
Like this Ostrich

Sam had fun
Sitting on the ledges
Of the Display Cabinets

Sam was wearing
His CBGB’s shirt
And he said
“I’m a Rock Star"

Sam had fun
Rolling his apple juice bottle
Under some of the
Display cabinets
And crawling underneath them
To find the bottle

The Triceratops dinosaur
Looks like it’s
Biting Grandpa’s head!!

He climbed
Lots and lots and lots
Of Stairs

And he told Grandpa
To
“Hold on Tight, Grandpa"

Sam and Grandpa
Then went to the bathroom
So that Sam could change
His diaper

Sam washed
His hands

And used
Lots and lots of
Paper towels
To dry his hands

Then it was
Time for Lunch
PIZZA!!!!!!
(Sam loves pizza)

Ummmmmmm…
Good !!
Sam showed Grandpa
His mouth full of Pizza

After lunch was all done
Sam decided it was
Time for his nap
And he said “I want to sleep in the desert"

When Sam woke up
It was time to visit
Another dinosaur
Up close

His teeth
Were very, very
Sharp

Sam decided
That he wanted to dig
For dinosaur bones
(but first he had to put on safety goggles)

He used many
Different tools to explore,
Like a soft brush to
Wipe away the sand from the
Dinosaur bones

Sam asked Grandpa
To help him
And Grandpa was
Very proud of Sam’s work

After his hard work,
Sam found some drawers
With suprises in them
(here’s a bigggggg spider)

The drawer was too high
For Sam to see inside
So he reached in…..

"Look!"

Soon it was time
To go back to
Grandpa’s house,
So they rode the subway home, and Sam drank his apple juice

When they got back to
Their own subway stop,
Sam discovered that
It was raining,
So he opened his umbrella

Sam walked to his
Apartment building
And stomped around in the puddles
Before going inside

When he finally arrived home
And was in Grandpa’s house,
He started reading books
Even before taking off his jacket

It had been a
Wonderful Day

(and some day Sam and Grandpa will visit the Natural History Museum again)


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