garyfreedman's Blog

You may wonder what I'm looking for in life. I just wish I had a friend. Just one friend. I yearn for a friend. That's why I'm so obsessed with Brokeback Mountain. (I'm not looking for sex though). I just wish I had a friend I could have lunch with once in a while, or hang out with. I feel desperate for a connection with someone. It haunts me day and night. The problem is (one of many problems I suppose) is that I don't like most people. I would rather be alone than be friends with most people. I'm looking for a special person to be my friend.

And I feel I have the ability to detect who is special. I developed an imaginary friendship with a guy who lived in my building, Brad Dolinsky. I knew he was special the first time I saw him. I don't know what it was about him. Then one day I was talking to the front desk person in my building. I knew she was friendly with Brad Dolinsky and I sounded her out about him. I was curious about him. She said he was 31 years old. He had two degrees from Columbia -- his B.S. and his medical degree. He was a captain in the U.S. army and was doing a residency in ob-gyn at Walter Reed. He had published several papers already (even though he was only a resident.) One of his papers had won a national award for excellence in medical writing. I thought, "I knew it. I knew he was special." How do I have that ability? 
 
Then years ago, when I was at Hogan & Hartson, there was a law clerk. I identified him as a special person. I had no idea who he was, but I knew his name, Glenn Fine. I just knew he was special. I later found out, years later, that Glenn Fine graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and from which he received a law degree. He also received a master's degree in politics, philosophy and economics from Oxford University as a Rhoads Scholar. He was also a star basketball player at Harvard where he had a chance to make the NBA. Check out this web page. (Don't drag it. Just click it.) http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/glennfine.htm 
 
Where do you meet special people? (Certainly not at the Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library, I guess.) Could you give me your thoughts on this? This is terribly painful and tormenting for me. I live in a fantasy world where I have imaginary friendships with special people. I yearn for a connection with these people. How am I able to spot these people? It's all very strange.