This is the man.

I don't know his name. It has been almost 30 years since I saw him and he died a week later. His image has accompanied me these 30 years on my journey through life. Much has happened to me since then but always I come back to him.

I was standing in a doorway in downtown Saigon. It was raining and I was just taking up the portal watching the world go by and then he was there in front of me with his hand out.

I was approached on every block in Saigon by beggars and did not want to pay him anything. But there was something about him, something in his face; in his eyes. We met and passed words mentally for a moment. I motioned awkwardly that I would pay him if I could take his photograph. He smiled that wonderful smile, took the money, and was gone again.