Sam's Fans Salute The Man

Yesterday the docents surprised Sam Schafer with a birthday luncheon to celebrate his 80th birthday and to express their appreciation for all the knowledge, intelligent conversation and, yes, even the puns and shaggy dog stories he has shared with them over the years.

Getting a chance to honor Sam made it a wonderful occasion for the 22 docents who were able to attend and we were delighted that Sam seemed to enjoy it too. Janet Heller read a clever poetic tribute, and Barbara Zimmerman some Sam-centered limericks which were both funny and true. The group presented Sam with a gift certificate to the Joseph Fox Book Shop and a card which included the names of many of those who couldn't be there but still contributed to the present.

Putting this luncheon together was very much a grass-roots effort which met with enthusiasm from the entire docent community. Thanks to Barbara Zimmerman, Mickey Portnoy and Jesse Ruhl whose initial enthusiasm for the project got it off the ground, and to Katherine Sullivan who visited restaurants in search of a good room and a reasonably priced menu and organized the party -- good intentions are laudable but the person who actually gets the meal on the table is a real hero. And special thanks to Emilie Parker, RML's Director of Education who joined us at the luncheon -- she had the trickiest job: getting Sam to the restaurant.