Another really nice day.. We hung out trying to stay warm while it went between warm and freezing outside. We’re expecting frost tongit but mid 80’s on thursday. Gotta love Vermont in the spring.
We spent today doing small projects around the house including trying to dry out the half pipe, fixing the trampoline, re-running the water softener after it failed the first time, etc.. none of it hard or taxing.. just blissfully mindless work.. ahhhhhh
The big event for the day was a ‘Friends of Sam’ meeting here at 4.. Sam’s freinds have created this orginization in Sam’s memory. They raise money to help kids around the world.
Last year Sam’s freind Sam T. organized a ‘Jam for Sam’ benefit at Talent Skate Park (with the help of our very wonderful freinds at Talent..Hannah and Dave !!!!!) That event raised more than 3000 dollars to help a Sudanese freind of ours Abraham get his family out of refugee camp and here to vermont.. Sam wanted to do another Jam for Sam event.. and the group of
This time they’ve found a really interesting cause . am T.’s mom has a freind who has a freind who’s from cambodia . Her name is Khem 
Khem is trying to raise money to help the families in her small birth town of Khang Baing . Khem and her sister and brother was abducted from their small village in Kampong Chanag province by the Khmer Rouge. They spent many months in refugee camps before fleeign to tthe Thai boarder. therye they got pinned between the Thai military and the Kmer Rouge troops. Khem’s sister got ill and died while her brother managed to escape back to the village. Khem passed out and woke in a hospital. She ended up in an orphange in Thailand where she lived for several years. Eventually she was brought to Vermont and settled with a family in Essex. She went to high school here, then to college in Mass.. then married and now has three kids.. 9 years ago she met another Cambodian women here who was travelign back to Cambodia.. Khem gaveher as much info as she could about her parents and her village … Somehow this info proved to be enough for the woamen to find Khem’s family and reconnect them. Ever since Khem has been trying to help her family and therei vary poor family escape from poverty and illness. Khem actually traveled back to cambodia for the first time last fall.. here she is reunitted with her parents. You can read about Khem’s story and her vision here.
Khem told the the Kids that she was tryoing to raise money to dig a few wells in the village to get fresh water and perhaps to help them buy a truck in order for the village to sell their produce. The FOS guys were excited to help. it looks like the event will be 6/6/09 at Talent.. I’ll let everyone know as that date gets closer.. The event should be fun.. music, food and skateboarding..all for a great cause.. what could be better ?
Whiel we had everyone toghter.. we couldn’t forget that it was Brit’s 19th birthday. Diane had mad a great carrot cake (our Sam’s favorite).. and we brought it out as a surprise.. Crit was suprised and happy !
Well now it’s about 9 PM on Sunday and Im having trouble staying awake.. What’s up with that ? I think I’m really getting soft in my old age.. but who cares.. I’m goign to sleep. Gnite everyone.. Gnite, Sam !
-me