Today I heard that Samuel Jackson died. I immediately thought to myself, oh, what a loss to his family and the town. I remember Sammy as a main character in my life growing up in Edgartown. He was Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer rolled into one.

Sammy was the leader of his band of brothers and extended brothers who roamed all over Edgartown and beyond getting into benign mischief; he was the expert in hunting, fishing, arrowhead finding, boat rowing, baseball playing, overall exploring and, yes, plundering apple orchards and watermelon gardens too. My memories drift to fishing at Wiggy’s Pond when there weren’t any houses within miles, of swimming at the Eel Pond opening, of “borrowing” a rowboat and taking it out into the bay where a squall almost capsized the boat with eight of us aboard.

But Sammy always came through, saved us and made everything okay. He was our champion who knew where and how to catch the biggest fish, find the plumpest berries and hunt the most rabbits.

In the passing years I would periodically see Sammy at the grocery store or in passing. We always said hello and exchanged knowing smiles . . . smiles like so many of us Islanders have for each other, that smile that seems to connect our histories together without even having to say a word. He usually had a couple of kids in tow and a huge shopping cart full of food, which looked like enough to feed an army at home.

I came to learn over the years that he continued his leadership qualities and caring ways into adulthood. He and his wife, Diane, took in a number of children and parented them into adulthood. He opened his door and his heart to the children who needed him . . . he stepped up to do the right thing and take charge, just as when we were kids.

Sammy Jackson will always stand tall and be a hero in my eyes. When people talk about what is needed these days to make things better, think about Samuel Jackson. He set an example that we all might try to follow.

Tommy Bennett lives in Edgartown.