The first time… and really the only time… I saw Sam Elliott was in the Lebanon Wal-Mart parking lot in July of 2018. I believe it was July 28th, as I know it was on a Saturday. My Saturday routine is to do my laundry and my grocery shopping. Which is what I did, but I had forgotten something when I went shopping that morning, so later in the afternoon my youngest son and I went to Wal-Mart.
I had been bemoaning the fact that it was my second trip to Wal-Mart in one day. I pulled into the parking lot and parked my truck, and before I could get out, my son said, “Mom, look”, … and he was pointing at a shiny black Camaro that had pulled up and parked across the aisle from us. I looked, and said, “Is that Sam Elliott?” My son replied, “We can wait a minute and find out.” And not even a whole minute went by before the driver door of the shiny black Camaro opened, and out stepped the man himself, Sam Elliott!
I have to confess, I am at a loss as to know what to do at a time like that. I caught myself staring, and Sam did too, so I looked away… because it’s not polite to stare at people. I wanted to rush up and ask if I could take a picture with him… but I’m just too chicken to do such a thing. I know, I know, other people do, but the man probably gets bombarded with stuff like that all the time… and he is entitled to his privacy.
So, I just stood there and watched him walk up to Wal-Mart. On the way, he retrieved a shopping cart from a parking space and set it out of the way… which I thought was ultra-cool! I think it says a lot about a person that they don’t think it’s beneath them to do a simple good deed.
So, I think Sam Elliott is truly a very nice person, and I hope to see him again someday!