“Living is easy with eyes closed.”

– John Lennon, English singer and songwriter

Sam was an old bachelor who lived down the road from us when I was a kid. Father would occasionally hire Sam to help with odd jobs around the farm. To me, Sam didn’t seem especially good at anything. Looking back, I wonder if Father didn’t feel a little sorry for him.

Sam had a propensity for showing up at meal times, and he always indulged his abundant appetite over a plate of my mother’s home cooking. During the meal and afterwards, over tea, Father often talked about what was happening in the community or about something he’d heard on the news. Sam’s answer was always the same. “Oh, I don’t know much about that.” Sam would always...

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