I spied him walking down a city street in Gallup, New Mexico, a forlorn, ragged, filthy yet beautiful creature who had not been warmed with kindness far too many days of his life. His cold, hard aloneness, the anguish he exuded, stretched to the edges of the Earth and wrung my heart into threads. This could not be.

I would search for him and leave food on the curb where I would see him hiding behind bushes and buildings. I learned his name from townsfolks and greeted him. He was catatonic, not speaking or looking at me. Time passed. He learned to trust me and became my beloved comrade.

This is Garrison Lee Murphy, a young, homeless Navajo boy, suffering the effects of full-blown Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. He is the personification of the innocence and wisdom of a seven-year-old, disguised in the body of a man.

The film, Gary and the Angels, is a tribute to Gary’s life.

Margo M. Wagner