When all of our children were still at home, my family ran a local theater. Besides a following of locals who liked to come to our shows, tourists on their way to Yellowstone supported us. However, our greatest support came from the “Snowbirds,” a designation locals gave to retired people from southern states who came north to escape the summer heat. These Snowbirds rented college housing apartments during the summer months when school was out. As a family, we learned to love these seniors.

Due to our association with these wonderful people, we were often asked to come into nursing homes and assisted living centers to do programs. I was the M.C., announcing the program, telling jokes, and doing cowboy poetry. Our family sang, played musical numbers, and did mini skits. After finishing a program, we spread out to visit with the people there. The residents seemed to especially love those visits.

There was one old cowboy there whom I grew to love. Sam had led a long, hard life riding horses and working with cattle, but he was always positive and happy. We had good times visiting about horses and the outdoors.

Sam loved people, and they knew and loved him in return. He loved to meet new residents and staff and learn about them. If he found out someone new had moved into the nursing home, he was always the first to visit them. But Sam was in the nursing home mostly because his memory was failing.

He could talk all day about his earlier years, but mention something that happened a short time before, and he would have no recollection of it within an hour. However, Sam still had enough mental capabilities to know he had this problem. He often joked about it.

Often, we arrived to set up as the residents were finishing dinner. On one such day, after we set up our equipment, I visited with Sam before our program. He turned the topic of conversation to his forgetfulness. He laughed and said, “I guess I have the cleanest mind of anyone, because it keeps refreshing to the empty state.”

“Have you ever heard the joke about President Bush visiting the nursing home?” I asked.

He said he hadn’t.

“Well, one day, President George W. Bush visited a nursing home. At one point, he approached a lady sitting in a wheelchair and asked, ‘Do you know who I am?’ She shook her head. ‘No. But I’m sure if you ask at the front desk, they can tell you.’”

Sam laughed and laughed. “I’m getting about to that point,” he said.

As soon as everyone finished eating, our family performed the program. When we finished, we spread out to visit as usual. I sat down again by Sam.

Sam smiled. “I loved your program. One of your jokes reminded me of one I once heard, but I can’t recall it. It seems like it had something to do with a bush.”

I then retold him the joke about President Bush. He laughed again. “That’s it. I just wish I could remember who told it to me.”

One day, I began to realize that my friend was really struggling. Once more, we visited before our program. He asked me my name, and I told him, and we had a wonderful visit about horses and working in open country.

Then, our family did our program, and when I sat down to visit again, he asked me my name once more. I told him, and he smiled. “We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

I nodded. “Yes, we have.”

He laughed. “You know, one thing about my situation, every day I meet hundreds of new people.” He laughed again. “Actually, I just meet the same people new again hundreds of times.”

It wasn’t long after that when my friend left us. With his big smile and happy countenance, I could just imagine God put him in charge of greeting all the new people coming into heaven.