Abandon All Preconceived Notions Ye Who Enter Here

The continuing story of Gaby Lampkey with new surprises and a live broadcast.

I have written numerous stories about remarkable New Yorkers, many whose accomplishments are hidden beneath an unassuming or unlikely exterior. But all of these have been images captured at one moment in time. The timespan of this website has not typically been conducive to multipart stories showing an individual's changing life. Until today.

On July 7, I had a remarkable experience meeting Gaby Lampkey, an Alaskan Indian who had been on the road for 10 years without a home. However, our chance encounter also had a amazing twist - we had a previous connection 26 years prior which we were both unaware of. If you have not read my story, you can find it here.
A regular reader from Kansas, familiar with the individuals featured here, paid a visit to New York City and, in another twist of fate, met me and also Gaby. See that story here.

Since that first meeting on July 27, in a short 3 months, Gaby has found a home, met a woman, gotten a job and is working towards his goal at becoming a professional musician. Gaby has a positive aura and has endeared himself to everyone who meets him, including virtually all the local musicians who play regularly in Washington Square Park. I envisioned a part 2 to Gaby's story, but only a farewell as he continued his life on the road, certainly no reincarnation that would qualify Gaby for my "Abandon All Preconceived Notions Ye Who Enter Here."

He has proven to be quite ambitious, rising at 5 AM, resume writing, job hunting etc. On Friday, November 12, he made a surprise visit to my office. I had not yet arrived at the office and was called at my home. I sped to the office to meet a man in a sport jacket who now had limited time - he was on his lunch hour. We joked at the irony of his waiting for a business owner not yet at work by a man who 3 months prior had all the time in the world. When I asked if my story had any influence on his life, he said yes, it was a mirror. "I read it and said, hey, that's me."

I asked if he would return to play and sing for our staff. He readily agreed. This casual suggestion turned into an event as I saw this as the perfect opportunity to record a live performance before an audience for a demo DVD that we had discussed making for Gaby to pursue music gigs.

I have equipped the showroom with a webcam and will be broadcasting the performance live with an audience of fans and friends. Join us in this celebration of this man who is transforming his life before our very eyes.