Sam and Santa were born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, and probably lived no more than two miles apart, but did not know each other because he attended public school and she went to a girl’s school. Later in life, Sam was the manager of several movie theaters in Kansas City. One night the movie Star Wars Return of the Jedi was playing, Sam spotted his cousin who had a date with Santa Marie and that is the first time Sam was introduced to her. A few months later they both attended a dance sponsored by Parents without Partners and Sam found out that his cousin and Santa Marie lived next door to each other. He realized they were not serious and he took the opportunity to make a play. She blew him off. A week later he tried again and she suggested they play Racquet Ball. It should be noted that she is not your ordinary run-of-the-mill Racquet Ball player and expected to clean his clock. She was used to playing cutthroat racquet ball with two big guys and she did not realize how athletic Sam was. To her surprise, he won. He invited her to dinner, and they hit it off. One night she invited him for dinner and unexpectedly found the key to his heart through the Black Forest Chocolate cake she made for the occasion. They married three months later. Sam said they see things through the same lens.
They arrived in Sun Lakes from Kansas City. Sam’s career had taken them from Kansas City to California and he traveled a great deal (more later). She was tired of sitting in Kansas City alone so he bought a condo in Phoenix, where the weather is nicer. When looking for a place to spend their retirement, the criteria they followed was to find an upscale community with smaller homes than most of them provide, and that Sam could play golf without leaving the community. Sun Lakes fit all their requirements and they built a home in 2003, which they rented out just in the wintertime for a couple of years. They moved into their home full-time in 2005. They love the activities that are available and the ability to just enjoy them.
FEATURE PRESENTATION
We must note here that Santa grew up with three brothers and was a tomboy. She has scars on her knees to prove it. Her father raced midget race cars and she wanted to be in the thick of things. Santa loved being in the pit, changing oil and getting dirty right along with the boys. Her mother was horrified. She has always been athletic and likes climbing Camelback Mountain, hiking, biking, water aerobics, and especially rollerblading. You might see her in the early morning on the streets within our community. We asked her how she became interested in rollerblading and she said it all started fifteen years ago when they lived in California, just twenty minutes over the hill from the beach. She and a friend had gone to the beach and were watching others rollerblading. They thought it looked like fun. When she told Sam, he said she could not have rollerblades because he was afraid she would fall and with him being away so much would have no one to take care of her if she were injured. Sam found out that was the wrong thing to say to an independent woman like Santa. She had rollerblades in a very short time.
Some of her jobs were working for a group of Radiologists computerizing their billing system from the old pegboard. She also worked for State Farm in Human Resources. She had a realtor’s license and even worked in a bank. The bank position was short-lived after the day she was working as a teller and a robber came into the bank and put a cocked gun to her head demanding money. Her coworker was on the floor trying to find the alarm button. She had just filled her drawer with money and gave him the contents. As he was leaving, her training came out unconsciously when she told him “Thank you, come again.” She has lived a charmed life because on another occasion she was walking past a construction site when workers knocked a cement block off the six story hotel they were working on. The block sliced her head on the right side. It was a miracle, because if the block had hit her just a bit further on the top of her head, it would have killed her.
While working in Human Resources, all the employees came to her with their problems and she had the knowledge of how to fix most of them. When she left that job, they threw a party for her and had a license plate made that said “I am the queen” because that was their nickname for her.
Santa and Sam have been fortunate to find their life partner. They have many interests that they share including travel, the opera, ballet, art, athletics, and of course some interests they do not share like rollerblading. When they travel they share a love for learning the history of the place and visiting museums. They respect and appreciate the differences between them and allow individual space. They have mutual friends and individual friends. They like to have fun and do not like to adhere to a rigid schedule. Spontaneous decisions are sometimes made to go on adventures that take them wherever their fancies lead. Their home reflects them and they are especially fond of a tapestry they purchased on a recent trip to Italy. As second-generation Americans of families that came here from Sicily, they are getting back to their roots. Through the Rosetta Stone program and a teacher they are learning Italian.
One of her dreams was to go to the Metropolitan Opera House to see La Boheme in New York. Sam tried to fulfill that by making all the arrangements. Just like the scene from Moonstruck (their favorite movie, they were all dressed up for the evening and when she stepped out of the cab wearing a beautiful gown and shoes just like Cher did, the entire plaza was under construction which spoiled the picture she had in her mind. Life is not always like the movies. Interestingly, they don’t consider themselves movie buffs.
Let us take you back to the sixties. There you would find Sam at age fifteen working at a local AMC cinema as an usher. He was only making $1.00 an hour, but he could see all the latest flicks free and taking a date to the movie didn’t cost an arm and a leg.
The theatre was much different from the sprawling Multiplex theaters we see today. The front of the building was identified by a single ticket window centered below the marquee featuring one movie. With ticket in hand, you entered a lobby which smelled of fresh popped corn and a well lit glass case filled with all your favorite treats. There you would find candy bars, boxes of Good ‘N Plenty, Milk Duds, and much more. Soft drinks were sold, but once inside the theatre there were no cup holders built into the arm rest. Seats were rigid and bolted to a slightly inclined floor. If you were unlucky enough, you found yourself seated behind a tall person or a woman with a hat that blocked your view. Surround sound was not available. AMC Theaters were instrumental in improving theaters and the overall movie experience.
Sam loved the movie business. What started out as a simple job during his teenage years developed into a career with AMC Theatres. Sam said he learned the business from the ground up, learned how to run projectors, pop corn, fix the air conditioner, pay the employees, and whatever was needed to make the business profitable. AMC Theaters recognized his abilities and sought out employees like him to move up in their company. The company helped him financially so he could earn a degree in Business Management. When he and Santa were married, he was Midwest Division Engineer and later was transferred to California. There were five divisional offices in the US and he headed one of those. After graduating from grad school at USC courtesy of the company, he was transferred back to Kansas City where the corporate headquarters is located. Before he left the company, he had become the Executive Vice President of Design Development and Real Estate. Eventually he was in charge of all of five divisions and then they went International. He had to start up offices in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Madrid and Paris. That was the start of major traveling for Sam. With five offices in the US and four overseas, he was gone much of the time. His department’s job was to locate land or lease, conduct feasibility studies, design, build and maintain a theater and then move on to another. While he worked for AMC Theaters, cup holders in armrests and stadium theaters were developed by AMC. There were many other facets of the business that the average moviegoer is not aware of such as sound systems, lighting, types of film now digital, type of concession counters used, and many other things that we found extremely interesting.
Sam truly enjoyed what he did for a living and was well rewarded for his enthusiasm, knowledge and resourcefulness. They had a chance to travel, meet celebrities, and basically have the time of their lives. As a couple, they are still finding new adventures, new experiences and new people to enhance their retirement.
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