31 Sam's Bridge

Sam's Bridge

By: Maya Willis Featured Writer

“Sam’s Bridge” is a small bridge in the center of a gravel road, on 11000 N off of 45 in Manteno, IL. Below the bridge is a small creek where you'll see fish, a bunch of frogs and a beaver that I love seeing the most, I think.

I like to think maybe that’s its home and it gives me a comforting feeling, like peace. Like there can be life after death (you’ll understand later what that really means). There are trees surrounding the left side and right side of the bridge circling the creek, it looks like each side of the creek narrows and disappears into the greenery.

Part of the greenery being moss and tall weeds I like to call, cattail weeds. There are wildflowers in each corner of the bridge, kind of in the dip of the bridge, going beneath it. It’s beautiful. The creek beneath this bridge flourishes and rises when there's consistent rain. The weeds and grass are dewy, and the ecosystem of bugs and small wildlife seem to thrive. Driving down the road that it is on and over the bridge, you often see dusty clouds from the dry gravel road.

In the winter, the trees are covered with crystal clear ice and heavy snowflakes. It looks like it’s straight out of a movie, like an enchanting scene from Narnia. When I'm out on the bridge alone during the winter, I get out of my car, my feet crunching on the ground.

Sometimes freshly on the blank white canvas of the snow, or sometimes overlapping footprints of othervisitors, admirers that have gotten there before me. When I stand outside it's very silent and peaceful. The only noise I can hear is cars driving fast down 45, from a far distance and sometimes, if it’s windy enough I can hear the whistling from the trees. The icicles on the leaves hit each other lightly, but enough for me to be able to hear it. It’s all very peaceful to me. It’s one of the few places where I feel I can take a deep cleansing breath and when I exhale I feel releaseand decompression of all the stress in me.

The bridge and everything I am describing is located in the middle of miles of crop fields. Young adults around my age, I’ll guess from sixteen to twenty-five, use the open land and thesmall town to their advantage, to say the least. In the spring, I’ve seen people wakeboard down the flooded ditches on this road after a heavy rain.

People go off-roading in the cornfields that surround the bridge in the summertime, and in the winter they're sledding across the icy bridge being pulled by a rope attached to the back of a car. Although these activities are not the safest or smartest, my friends and I, and so many others in that town, grew up on memories like those. The bridge and all the time spent is such a big part of people's lives.

Before December 10, 2016, this bridge was not called Sam’s Bridge. It was called Stoner’s Bridge and was a typical hangout spot for high schoolers to go for obvious reasons, but also for the memories I listed before. It has always been a safe place for so many people, both before December 10 and especially after.

This is when you’ll understand the meaning of my comment I made at the beginning of this paper, “...there can be life after death." On December 10, 2016, a person loved by so many, ended his life at this bridge. His name is Samuel (Sam) Myers. I try to think of words that I could use to describe Sam. It’s hard because most words aren’t good

enough for him. I like the word beautiful. He was a beautiful, extravagant person in every way.

After Sam’s passing, his parents did an amazing thing and bought the bridge, and after that, it was Sam’s Bridge. At each end of the bridge, there are big green visible signs that have a suicide hotline phone number on them. My friends and I really love that his parents did this.

Unfortunately, after Sam’s death, the town had multiple suicides and overdoses, all within the same friend group. Sam, Enrique, Randy, Ethan and Ryley. I know others in Manteno who have lost their parents and loved ones in these same ways. These tragedies have been going on for years in this town. This town and especially the parents, families and friends in this circle suffered a lot: PTSD, severe depression and unfortunately a lot more. The list could go on. It resulted in more death. But, Sam’s passing also brought awareness. Sam’s parents, Kathleen and Brandon, started an organization called the Sam Myers Foundation.

On their website, they have multiple resources if an individual is in crisis. They also have Sam’s story and their mission. It is really nice. There is also an option to donate on the website and the money goes to suicide awareness education and many other things that keep this foundation going. His parents also became a safe haven for SO many people. I myself have reached out to his parents when I felt lost after all the deaths that have happened in Manteno over the past 5 years.

The bridge before Sam was mine and my friend’s and so many people's spot to enjoy each other and make memories. That is the same after Sam, but now, it means something more. There have been so many times that I know myself and a lot of my friends have gone there to feel safe, cool down and think. I know after my boyfriend passed away, I went to Sam’s Bridge countless amount of times when I felt like I was going over the edge. I’ve gone there to sit and cry, scream and I sometimes have even gone there to sleep in my car because of how low I got after these deaths. I know this may be the same for others.

Ultimately, this bridge means SO much to so many people, on so many levels. Although I don’t live in Manteno anymore, it’s less than an hour away. On occasion, I still go to visit, and as I said before, when I am there, I feel great peace and comfort. It has given me a lot of happiness to be able to describe Sam’s Bridge in this much detail and recall all of the beautiful memories that it holds. I feel happy knowing I could share at least a fraction of what this bridge means to me and others.