“The Portal Man” is an imaginary scenario I created as a kid. In this scene, a magic portal would appear and the “portal person” would tell me just what I needed to hear to accomplish my goal.

Notably, the person stepping through the portal was not a parent, a sibling, a friend, or a teacher, but an older version on myself. It’s as if I internalized and narrativized the realization that I would have to solve my problems alone, regardless of how large they might be.

That is, until I met Mr. David, and Mr. Craig, who eventually introduced me to Joey, Bennett and Jackie, who then introduced me to Nate who introduce me to Ryan, who eventually introduced me to Cam. And after meeting all those people I met Greg, who created the opportunity for me to meet Cody. And some time after meeting Cody I finally, started listening to Kenny.

Slowly, this group of people become the figures who stepped through the portal. And eventually, the portal itself became replaced. Not by another imaginary scene, but by real, tangible, relationships.

Eventually, the portal became a long meeting, a sporadic coffee, or an early lunch, and the person stepping though was simply someone who decided to regularly offer their time, share their thoughts, and lend their experience.