Missing Sam.

Hi. It’s 9:45 p.m. and I’ve had just about all the activity a person can stand for one day. I emptied the dishwasher, re-bandaged a toe, ordered in Chinese food, talked to Sam long-distance in California, considered eating a piece of cake and watched an amazing movie called Letter from an Unknown Woman with Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan (see photo). Incidentally, the Einsteins who rate these films for our AT&T U-Verse cable guide gave it 3½ stars — the same as Dinner for Schmucks, which is AT&T’s benchmark for excellence in filmmaking, and Ben-Hur — so you know it must be awfully damn special.

Breaking news ... SAM COMES HOME ON SUNDAY! To say I’ve missed him would be the understatement of the century because it’s awfully dull around here when he’s gone. Not only is Sam the life of the party, he’s cuddly, exceptionally attractive and the Howdygram’s official mascot. (He’ll kill me for that.) First, however, I have a number of projects scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday), such as making a mountain of my world-famous homemade potato salad, ordering a 12-pack of Bounty select-a-size paper towels from Wal-Mart and trying not to destroy any additional toes in the process. Sam’s flight gets in at 5:30 Sunday and I’ll be there to pick him up.

Click here to send Sam a welcome home email. Thank you.