Like most everyone I heard about the earthquake in Hawaii. But I had forgotten that Samson was in Hawaii for the Ironman which will take place this weekend.
"All of sudden I heard this incredible noise," Samson said. "I thought a plane was about to hit the hotel. Before I could get out of bed to open the shades to see if that were happening, the entire room started shaking as though it were an amusement park ride. The TV came out of the armoire and lamps were falling off the tables and drawers were opening."
Not sure how, Samson knew immediately it was an earthquake and that he should stand under a doorframe. He hollered for his training partner, Brad Miller, who was asleep in an adjoining room.
"People were just screaming," Samson said. "It lasted about a minute and then the shaking stopped. That's when people really got scared because of what happened in Indonesia. Our hotel is right on the water, and the first thing we all thought was there's going to be a tsunami and that'll be it."
About 45 minutes later Samson and the other guests were told a tsunami alert had not been issued.
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In spite of the earthquake, Samson's race is on. Saturday morning, he will join the 1,800-person field.
"It's a little intimidating," he said. "The field is the world's best triathletes and David Samson. I knew that I was different when I was in hotel gift shop buying Swedish Fish and everyone else is drinking a protein shake."
While I rank far behind his Mother as a fan of the man, I would never wish him harm. It's good to hear he survived the earthquake unscathed.
Whether he will survive the Ironman, that is still up for grabs.