Gary lives on Freemont Street - a photo on Flickriver

            I am fortunate.
I make friends easily.
I can talk to most anyone.
And I so love talking to people. 
Hearing their stories. 
Watching them smile. 
Occasionally helping them smile. 
Sometimes working quite hard to help them smile. It's in my heart.
And that's how I met Gary who is a Viet Nam Vet. And lives on the street.
He told me many stories including how he came face to face with a heaping helping of shrapnel, his weeks in the hospital and how he believes in and loves magic.

Now every  time I meet a "Gary" who opens up beyond their very guarded exterior, I feel more fortunate. I think the guardedness is something I share with my friends living on the street. As is my desire to find someone I can open up to. So making really good friends is something I struggle with. And yearn for.

But this story is not about me nor Gary. 

It's for my Flickr Friend who goes by the name "magic_fella" (Or David as I now call him, having called him many more colorful things already in our short time knowing each other) 
He is now way more than a Flickr Friend.
He is a storyteller with vivid pictures and vivid words which consistently captivate me. His heart is enormous as is his spirit. (I have seen this firsthand.)
And he truly works magic (as I have seen and experienced up close...actually way up close)

And I now consider him part of my family, having opened up and shared and found so much in common with him. (Including our immense adoration for his wonderful wife Sheree, but that is for another story)
I am very fortunate.
Actually doubly fortunate.
   

Taken on: August 20, 2009

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