REAL Change comes to Vintage, straight out of Milwaukee

Team ICBM, unlike some Magic teams, does not play Magic for profit. When we aren't serving it up at the gaming tables, we're serving food to the homeless. One weekend while we were at a shelter doing good for the community we were talking about Magic, and a homeless man overheard us. He asked what Tommy what we were talking about, and Tommy started explaining Magic to him. The man cut Tommy off with "oh, Magic. I used to play, back in the day."

The gentleman introduced himself as Fred Hawkins. He was a Gulf War veteran, he said. When he came home, he got a job at the Janesville GM plant. He got sucked into Magic around Legends, picked up the staples, and played casually for years and years. Eventually he got into 5-color and played that for a while, then got bored with the game and put all his cards in a closet. When the economy collapsed last year, the plant closed, and he ran out of savings pretty quickly, lost his house, stored all his stuff with a friend, and ended up living out of his car. He had looked pretty down-and-out before, but he seemed energized when talking about Magic, and soon was reliving the old days. I asked if he still had his cards, and he said he did, that they were at his friend's. We invited him to come to Tuesday Night Vintage with us sometime, and he said he'd try to.

Lo and behold, the next week Fred was there. He hadn't played in years, but he knew 6th edition rules, and he remembered phases and such. The amazing part was that he was fully powered, with Drains, duals, and everything. He had just boxed up everything and forgotten what it was worth. Soly and I walked him through building a deck, and we played a few games. He sharpened up as the night went on. I told Fred that if he could make it next week, I'd cover his $5 entry for him. Fred showed up next week sporting a 2002 version of Keeper that he said he'd found on the net. He went 1-2, beating me playing BUG Fish but losing to Soly and Jimmy McCarthy. In the coming weeks and months, Fred got better and better. Soon he was playing Steel City Vault and going 50-50 with the best of us.

About 3 months ago, James King met Fred for the first time. After Fred told James his story, James said "oh, I could get you a job with my painting company if you want." Fred just stared. He couldn't believe it. The next week Fred was out painting houses with James and his crew. In the coming months Fred was able to put together enough money to get a lease on an apartment, and now he's off the streets.

Anyway, without further ado, please welcome ICBM's newest member, Fred Hawkins!