Good evening friends.

Thank you for stopping by. Sammy & Family really appreciates all the kind messages we received for Vanessa’s dad.  That meant a lot to us and was very soothing as well.

I have been thinking a lot of Vanessa’s dad since his passing on Sunday morning.  As I was thinking of him, I kept getting flashes of the movie “Gone with the Wind” in my head.  If you all remember the narrative at the beginning when the words were scrolling by.  They were saying how in a moments time, a civilization was “Gone like the Wind”

That is how it felt on Saturday night saying goodnight to George. And then in a blink of an eye, on Sunday morning he was Gone like the Wind.

Then I had to remind myself when you look at it that way, you miss all the pages in between of which his life was comprised.  Its like going into a bookstore and looking at the front cover where it says; “They fell in love”, and then you go straight to the back cover, and it says; “It ended in tragedy and death”  — Meanwhile there are 500 pages of life that had been lived in between the front and back cover that are being ignored.

So let’s extrapolate that to all of us that have lost loved ones. Once they are gone, that does not negate the lives they lived, or the experiences we shared. All of our fallen loved ones live on through us. Their footsteps are forever, just as ours will be. No matter where we are on the timeline of life, we remain connected.

It reminds me of that slogan;  “Don’t cry because its over, smile because it happened”  — I want to revise that slogan a little if I may.  Here it is; “Mourn because its over and then smile because it happened”

We will see you in the morning friends. Love always, Scott Smith for Sammy & Family.

Good evening friends.

Sadly we lost Vanessa’s father, George Martinez on Sunday morning at approximately 2 am. Vanessa found him dead at around 7:50 am lying in his bed. To say we were shocked would be the understatement of the year.

On Saturday day and Saturday night, he was perfectly fine. George was 84 years old. He did Not die of old age. He was in great shape and very active. Him and I recently fixed up several areas of the house, including taking doors on and off of hinges like they were pancakes. George was physically as strong as an Ox.

It appears as though he had heart attack while he was sleeping.

Let me tell you about George Martinez. At 19 years old he fought for the U.S. in the Korean War. After the war he worked for the Government of Puerto Rico in San Juan for 40 years.

Vanessa is 48 years old and lived with her dad her whole life. Her mother died at 44 years old and as a result, George and Vanessa’s bond was beyond anything I have ever seen. It was almost like he wanted to make it up to his daughters that their mother died so young.

He was the best father I’ve ever seen. I am not just giving lip service because he passed away now. He waited for Vanessa, Raquel and Myriam every singe day to either get home from school, and right up until his death, waited for Vanessa to get home from work each night.

His whole life was his family. He was the rock that held this household together. George is another example of what a “Soldier of Love” is. He was happy when his family was happy. If they were happy, he was happy.

George was a major animal lover. And animals loved him too. He was literally like Dr. Doolittle. He talked to animals and they talked to him.

Vanessa and I referred to him as a little Buddha. I seriously would not be surprised if he was actually related to Buddha somehow. He knew about anything and everything. Especially about cars. Cars were his passion. Decades ago his hobby was to race cars. And the last few decades his hobby was fixing cars.

But his knowledge was Not limited to just cars. He knew everything about fixing houses, bathrooms, roofs, landscaping, house appliances and so on and so on. He was a genius with tools. He used them like an artist. George Martinez was a 21st Century Macgyver. His mind was the Ultimate Weapon.

But it was so much more than that. When anyone in this family felt sick, or our backs and necks were soar, he knew exactly the motions for us to make to feel some relief.

He even had a great ear for music. He was always able to predict which up and coming artists would be big stars. George Predicted before they ever made it to mainstream, that Celine Dion, Notorious BIG, Rihanna and several others artists would be the successes they turned out to be.

The thing I loved most about him was that he was a such a considerate man. He had such great manners. George always thought of everyone else’s comfort before his own. He had such respect for people. He also had a lot of respect for himself. Every morning like clockwork, he would take a shower and shave. He never skipped even one day. His dignity and appearance meant something to him until the very last day.

George was always thinking 10 steps ahead of everyone so he can protect his family. He always tried to anticipate any challenges or dangers that could come our way. Sometimes I would tell Vanessa or some of my close friends, it was a little over the top. I felt he nagged us about everything. I say that tonight because I feel bad I said those things. I always knew how decent he was and how he just loved his family so much that he wanted to arm us (metaphorically), with as much protection as possible.

Yesterday when Vanessa was filling out the paper work at the funeral, I was waiting for the people to come pick up George’s body. During our alone time, which was about two hours, I went in there to let him know that he made me a better man. And that I will carry the torch and look out for his daughters the way he did. I told him I loved him and said I was sorry that I did not spend more time with him when Vanessa was at work.

I owe Mr. Martinez my life. He and Vanessa extended their hand to my 3 boys and I when things got extremely hard in NY. I promise to him, to God and the universe, that I will man up and live and die for this family on a dime. The Martinez’s lives and our dogs lives come before my own life.

I loved George like a father. And he used to tell me I am a son to him even when I acted like a 10 year old. In the 15 months I knew him, he taught me all the things my father never got to teach me as a result of him dying when I was 14 years old. George restored that father / son education that I never got in just over a year.

I will Never forget him. I will make him proud. My life does not belong to me any longer. It belongs to his 3 daughters and our 6 dogs.

George Martinez, you were the sweetest and strongest man I’ve ever known. I never knew somebody who can be so tough as nails, and at the same time be sweet as sugar.

George thank you for raising 3 of the best daughters on Earth. Thank you for making the world a better place. And thank you for making me a better man.

From here on out, I will get up and face each day with the same courage that you did. I promise you that.

Vanessa, Raquel and Myriam will love you til the end of time. I will always love you and remember you forever.

George Martinez was a real soldier. A soldier of life. Rest in peace Soldier Martinez.

Sincerely,

Scott Smith for Sammy & Family.