Playing the Part

Click on the image to magnify.

I was looking through some old newspaper clippings of the murals Alex Rubio and designed and painted back in the late 80's and early 90's when I came across this one about the Viet Nam War Museum that was located in the Alamo Plaza right about where the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum is today. Apparently the museum directors were falsely claiming themselves to be Viet Nam War vets.

The fellow pictured above, Gaylord Stevens, was the director Alex and I had the most direct contact with. He was friendly and talkative as I recall. I remember one time while I was working on a section of the mural we were painting on the stairwell walls, he stopped to look and comment on one of the portraits of the soldiers I'd painted. He remained quiet for a while as I continued to paint then pointed to his hand and some tiny scars on his knuckles that he said were made by shrapnel. I didn't have any reason to doubt him. What did I know? But he had to keep up the act around vets who stopped by the museum and those that volunteered there. Talk about method acting!

That museum, as far I know, is longer around. I wonder what ever happened to him?