Making Friends

One nice thing about this trip is that I’ve had an opportunity to get to know Gary better.  And I’m learning that he is quite the social butterfly.  This guy can make friends anywhere at anytime within minutes of showing up.  

Phi (left) looks on as Ursula and Sharon
get pics with Gary on China Beach.

 While traveling with our Intrepid group in Vietnam, he very naturally hit it off with two of the older gentlemen in our group.  Those three guys could sit down drinking beer and swapping lies at the drop of a hat.  OK.  Pretty natural there.  But he made friends with everybody on the trip and was looked up to as a resource for learning first-hand about the Vietnam War from a point of view they would not have otherwise had.  I recall the day we left Hoi An and how Gary held the group’s attention as he answered their questions about being in DaNang and Hue and his war experience in general.  At China Beach, many photos were taken as group members vied to get a pic with Gary.  It was amusing and heartwarming and poignant to see.  It changed the way Jeff and I see Vietnam as well and has added such depth to our experience.

In Bangkok, Gary met a fellow vet at our hotel and made a friend.  In Chiang Mai, he’s had a number of encounters of the kind he seems to have everywhere.  The stories are just too richly told by Gary for me to attempt them in this two-dimensional space.  But when we get back, as him about his fishing experience on the Ping River with chewing gum as bait or the friendship he struck up with a Buddhist Monk who, upon remarking on their mutual resemblance to The Buddha, insisted Gary sit down for a smoke with him.

George (Australia), Shawn (USA) & Gary on our last night
in Vietnam after our toast of Hanoi Vodka

You could also ask him about his evening spent on the back of a Harley.  I can’t recall if that was before or after the Girly-Man show at the gay bar.  Oh yeah, this guy is full of stories.  Start making your list now.  Have some cold beer on hand and give yourself a few hours, and I guarantee you an afternoon of entertainment.