Patriot Son

Gary was born in 1948. Gary enjoyed being alone and living in a world of pretending made up with his imagination. Gary's favorite thing to do was to observe people and their reactions to situations. Gary especially liked their interactions with other people.Gary's brother was very intelligent and would go to rummage sales (which is what they were called in the 1950s) and collect old books. Gary read Cyrano de Bergerac in the 5th grade and The Canterbury Tales in the 6th grade. Between the 6Th grade and high school, Gary read Shane, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Breakfast at Tiffany's.Gary was 16 when he decided not to go to college and dropped all college preparatory classes. Gary identified with many of the characters in the books he was reading and he wanted to get started in life. After high school, he became a general labor until he could get into a trade as an Electrician. Gary started an Electrical contracting business in 1979 and before he retired, he built it into a national multimillion-dollar business.The Arts were always close to his heart. Gary received his first photographic camera from an Uncle when he was eight years old. In 1981 Gary walked into a Photograph Gallery with the portfolio of his pictures and was given his first one-person show. One of the highlights of that career was receiving a signed letter from Ansel Adams. Ansel Adams excepted him to attend his 1983 workshop in Carmel California with Ruth Bernhard, Lucien Clergue, Cole Westin, Jerry Uelsmann, and others.Writing came later. In 1994 Gary was asked to participate in the Connections Leadership Project for the State of California. Gary was asked to serve on an advisory committee by the editor of a book, to help high school students deal with prejudices. Halfway through the three-year project, the editor asked if Gary would consider writing and submitting something for the book. Gary submitted three articles; to his surprise, all three were published. The book titled: Options, making Connections in today's World. The book was published in 1997.At the end of the project, the committee had a final meeting to celebrate the end of the project. Everyone connected with the project was there, and it was a large crowd. At the end of the Luncheon, the editor rose at the head table to address the group. He said as the last order of business; he wanted to leave us with one final thought from one of the articles in the book. He began to read Gary article on the death of his son. Immediately Gary recognized his words and became very uncomfortable as the crowd began to look around. At the end of the reading, he introduced Gary and said, thank you, ending the conference.Gary quickly gathered his belongings and headed for the door. As he started to the door, he heard someone calling his name. Gary turned and a middle-aged gentleman was making his way through the crowd heading towards him. He approached Gary and stood there for a second searching for words. Then he said to Gary. I could not let you leave without saying, he paused for a moment, composing himself then continued. I too have had a devastating loss recently. Your words have given me a new perspective. You changed my life. He then reached for Gary's hand and shook it, turned, and left, disappearing into the crowd.That was the moment Gary understood why people write and why he writes.