Leon Thompson: My Sam

Posted by winjaw on Aug 3, 2010 in Sams on Sams blog | 0 comments

When I was three years of age my father abandoned my mother and me. Drugs, alcohol and womanizing were the culprit. I never saw my father again until I was 26 years of age. My mother was very young and without support and returned home.

During the years that followed I was raised, for the most part, by my grandparents. My grandmother’s heritage was Pennsylvania Dutch Quaker and my grandfather was a New Mexico cowboy. We lived on a small farm in Concord, California, and they both had a great influence in my life. However, the one who had the greatest influence was my Uncle Sam.

Chapter Two – Some Sams Come And Go

Posted by winjaw on Jun 3, 2010 in Excerpts/Media | 0 comments

Following is an excerpt from Chapter Two of “Sam:”

One of my greatest Sams was no Bible-thumper. At one time I worked for him, later in my career we were peers running affiliated companies. While we were separated by many states running our respective companies, this guy dropped more pearls of wisdom on me than anyone else in my career.

We’d bump into each other at some meeting or just have a chance phone call. Almost every time, at some point he’d pull out “you might want to think about that.”