Just what is in a number

What’s in a number?  #2014 & #2015 how easy; one year to the next.  #33: The schools already signed up with Sam’s Watch in National Drug Facts week as I closed up my office Christmas Eve and headed to my planned holiday haven, French Lick.  While I was in French Lick, the hometown of #33 Larry Bird, I visited the house that he lived in as a boy; by knowing the current home owners I had a first hand look and I was intrigued to see one of the most historic basketball hoops, the one in Larry’s boyhood backyard that he played attached to his garage.  #24 is not so easy: Sam’s jersey number the last year he played high school basketball.  It’s also how I think of Sam today, 24/7.  I still miss the sound of his voice although I hear him in my mind all the time, so much so that I’ve termed it “Sam talk”; the wisdom in his adolescent advice from his experiences and gained knowledge, the stories of his life that he always shared with a smile and a laugh and usually some twist by story end, and just being in his presence.  A lot is in a number…