Column # 3: Who is John Galt?

Certainly he had potential to be gay.

Not to dog on the west coast, but kind of dressed like something that popped out of a magazine from one of those three or four stores that all look the same. I think Abercrombie is one of them. Well that, with a flare of something else that popped out of the ocean after a wicked surf.

Looking back on it I realize I would have given him the benefit of the doubt on any other setting. But at the house we were walking towards, lived an openly gay and mutual friend.

By the end of the night it was clear to both of us that similar motives had led us to take up the invitation that evening. Gay guys tend to draw in a crowd of good looking ladies. We both understood this, which by default made us put each other in the “this dude gets it” category.

That’s how I met Alex, my bro.

A character. Alex grew up on a farm on the outskirts of your epitome of small town. Growing up he went through the ropes that the culture often lies out before you. And he handled them well. He excelled academically, was the star athlete and naturally, there is always stories about the ladies. But before these ropes were tossed at him, he had already begun to weave and handle something within.

Not long into his first semester at Kansas State University, Alex stumbled across what he had woven as a boy in the farm. Feeling enlightened, he began to take the first steps in unraveling these knots.

On different days of the week Alex would dress up as different characters. What better way to practice than to throw himself on the real stage. One day the emo look, the next the uptight nerd, and another day, why not, the attention seeking jock.

He made a decision most fear to make. He stacked all his chips and went all in to pursue his dream, his happiness. Seeing that his nuclear engineering degree would not get him where he dreamed to be, Alex stopped going to class. His new classroom became the library and his textbooks were replaced by film and finance literature.

Then, he left. For a period of time the rough side of Denver became home. After hustling at Red Lobster and mastering the serving industry, it was time to move on. A packed U-Haul and half a country later Alex found himself in the east coast, getting closer and closer to his dream.

After being away for a few years Alex made it back home. But not in defeat or in search of a different dream, just to recharge. Since then, he has acted in numerous plays, presented monologues, and gone back out east a couple of times. It’s also been during his return home that we grew to know each other at the human level.

From time to time we reminisce on the way we met. We never fail to feel the hilarity of thinking each other was gay during dinner and good spirits with friends that night.

This summer he leaves for New York City, and this time, it’s for good. His gamble paid off and the ropes of the concrete jungle await.