NOTE:  It is now 4 days after I posted the entry below.  I found out that Buckeye's death was a hoax that he, himself, arranged.  Read the whole story at the ZIG & ZAG FORUM.   Click HERE  for the first message, and then scroll down and click on each link for the following messages concerning Buckeye (Sam).  

~ MUSIC VIDEO OF BUCKEYE - By Tornadotron ~

Thank you everyone for all your Holiday Wishes and beautiful pictures.  I haven't been around too much, because I've been dedicating a lot of my online time to my ZIG & ZAG FORUM, where my precious friend, Buckeye, was a Host.  Buckeye had cancer, and just passed away yesterday morning (Thursday, 1/5/2006).

Buckeye tried to post and Host the forum as long as he could.  Only two days after his last post, he passed away.  Some of you remember when he had a Bravenet Journal here.  Please CLICK HERE to go to my forum and view the tribute and all the beautiful messages that many people left for Buckeye/Sam.  Feel free to leave a message of your own, if you like.

Please CLICK HERE for the last message that Buckeye posted on my forum.   He was a very brave man and described a bit about his past (as he did in his Journal) in his last post.

If you would like to read the message from the people who were with Buckeye when he died, please CLICK HERE. 

A Poem written by Buckeye:

~ LIFE AND DEATH ~

It's weird it is, this life we live
We're here for years that go by so fast
Children come into this world each day
While others that we care for are all passing away

We don't realize how short our time is here
Until we get to thinking, when we lose someone dear
It makes me look at my own life
It makes me wonder if I'm living it right.
When I was younger, I could not understand
when my parents told me that my grandpa was dead

Where will he go? What has happened to him?
I kept thinking over and over again
Then as I grew older, I realized,
He's on that pathway, up in the sky

I never really got to know him
But that's just how life is
Generations are here for just so long
And then another one comes along.

~ BUCKEYE ~

With Luv, Rainbow

There's sorrow in life, sorry to know Buckeye is now in other place, hope it's full of peace and happiness there.

Thanks for letting me know Rainbow
I'll sure miss him and his stories

My spirit grives for the loss of such a dear saint of god. But in our loss we can take commfort in that the knowledge that the race is over and that there lies a crown for our dear friend.

We are so sorry to hear this news Rainbow. We really enjoyed visiting Buckeye when he had his journal, he was a great story teller and poet. It was obvious that he was an amazing man, and will be greatly missed by many. xo

May the light be with him until we meet again

Hello, thanks ever so much for telling me....I did have such a soft spot for him, and though we only spoke 3 or 4 times in total on the phone, I did think lots of him...it's sad he never felt the need to tell me just how sick he was..guess he was protecting me due to my being ill....he would always ask me..do you think they would let me adopt a child....something he really seemed to want, I was honest and said probably not, due to his situation..but that being a mentor or even a foster parent is something he might consider.I loved his stories and the cards he would send to me...God Bless him he is now a part of the Love and Light...BLU

So sorry to here about Sam's passing I loved reading his stories at his journal. God Bless him!

My condolences on the passing of your dear friend. May he rest in peace and may you find comfort knowing he is resting in our Lord's arms and is free from the pains of our mortal bodies. God bless you Rainbow, you have been a true friend to Buckeye and my heart goes out to you and to his family.

I have put up a tribute up at the bloggersblog....PLEASE SAY IT ISN'T SO!!!!!!!!!

--AmandaMagick

Thank you so much, dear friends.

I knew Buckeye through the forums for 7 or 8 years. We went through a lot...ups and downs. Once, I was his co-moderator; another time, we were both co-moderators on another forum; and then he was my co-moderator and host. There are many others on the Bravenet forums who have known Buckeye for years....even longer than I did. I once suggested that he start a Journal, so he did...and met so many more wonderful people.

Of all the years I knew Buckeye, I only talked to him several times through MSN Messenger-Voice. My "excuse" for not talking more often was not having enough time to talk regularly.

I think Buckeye knew that he only had a short time to live for several months. When he first mentioned it to me (a few weeks ago), he did not want me to tell anyone until after he died. I encouraged him to let others know, and he was so glad that he did.

During the last couple weeks, he was very weak and was under some strong medication, but tried to continue posting (with the help of Sheila and Randy) to keep in touch with us as long as he could.

My condolences to you and all who knew Sam. While I never new him I sense from the links in your post that he enjoyed traveling. Perhaps that is why "He was smiling really wide, and his eyes shone with spakles of light, Then he let go."

Thank You Rainbow for posting the picture of Buckeye. He has a really big Heart that shines through that Great Big Smile, now blessed in heaven. Amen
WOO HOO you did it BUCK!

hi rainbow . come to our place and you can hear me talk

Hi Rainbow!
I'm real sorry about the whole Buckeye thing, sorry to hear what's been going on with that Just wanted to let you that that I've caught up with the story (I THINK) & am saddened to hear what's been going on with the heartstrings. I don't believe there was anyway that you, or Blu, could have known what was actually going on behind the computer screens. You were just taken in by such a sad thing & how could you not have been!?
Take care hun

Thank you so much, Cathy. Emotions of anger, hurt, shock, and embarrassment came over me. I feel so badly for all the forum and journal friends who also expressed their sorrow and were also taken in. I can't understand a friend acting this way towards another friend for no reason that I can think of. I sent Buckeye an e-mail asking "WHY"? But he just sent a couple e-mails back to me in anger, since I didn't stick up for him.

"FORGIVENESS: The SPIRITUAL TONIC"

The first step on the forgiveness road is to decide if we even want to forgive. Resentments, after all, give us a sense of protection from those who hurt us. They serve as a type of armor. When considering dropping our resentments, we may feel vulnerable. But forgiving does not automatically mean that we remain in or renew a relationship. If the patterns that we are trying to forgive are still there, it may in fact be better for us to forgive while at the same time removing ourselves from the relationship.

We also hesitate at the doorway to forgiveness because we may believe that, if we forgive, we are saying that the offense is no longer a big deal. In other words, we may assume that forgiveness includes condoning. But it is possible, even important, to forgive while at the same time continuing to hold the person accountable. This is a variation on the old adage "Hate the sin, love the sinner."

Sometimes, too, we get caught on the folk saying "Forgive and forget." Again, this may not be a good idea, particularly when dealing with a person who remains at risk to hurt us again. I can forget something in that I allow it to become part of history, something which is in the past and no longer has any power over me. But I remember it as a reference point if the offending person continues the pattern which hurt me.

Power is a key to understanding forgiveness. If I still resent someone, then that person still has some power over me. For example, if, when I think of a bully who beat me up

Is he still here? What a card ! ! !

Personally I think that is pretty !!!!!...you don't mess with good peoples hearts like that..people that give a damn about you. Im just glad that there are not too many game players out there like this..or at least, ones that I have met. Talk about bad bad karma

Huge Hugs Rainbow ....Im in shock right now...

how distressing for you to go through this! This man must be terribly sick and sad to go through all this deciet! And how crushed you all must be, that he has left you in this way! I'm so sorry... at the same time it reminds me that we don't always know the people we think we know... :-(