Listening Is A Gift To Others

The drawings of our future Pop-Up shop

"RISK MORE THAN OTHERS THINK IS SAFE, DREAM MORE THAN OTHERS THINK IS PRACTICAL"

"Close your eyes and follow me." Trusting Garry, I did as I was told. His drawings were a surprise.

My unconventional friend "Garry the Landscaper" was the last man standing with colored pencils and graph paper after the auto CAD programs blew through the early 2000s. Garry was often in his "office" working on landscape drawings for clients. His drawings had a whimsical feeling, both happy and cartoonish. He would spend hours outlining and coloring in each phase of the project. What would start out as chicken scratch would turn into 8 pages of hand drawings, layered, scaled & full-color. These were the kind of drawings you wanted to show your friends when he finished.

Garry had a knack for daydreaming and when it came to my career, he was interested and curious about my dreams. We would spend hours talking about life, career possibilities, and what-ifs. These were conversations I had always desired to have with my Dad but never did. He always seemed uninterested in my budding career, often changing the subject to topics he was comfortable talking about, like his dog or the last movie he saw.

From the beginning, Garry thought the trailer idea was brilliant and he traveled with me to Mt Rainier the day I went to look at it. As usual, he had his camera in hand, photographing numerous moments that would never grace another’s eyes but live in his hard drive forever.

Looking back on our friendship, Garry's interest fostered my dreams. He was a man of few personal possessions and he gifted me things worth more than money, he gave me his time and attention. Garry showed me listening is a gift. This is an experience that has stayed with me and something I wish to pay forward.