“Fair enough, I suppose. Though I suspect I’ll lose so much money from buying your drinks, you’ll see me as the best friend you ever had.”

He laughed heavily at my statement, his yellow teeth matching the bar lights.

“So, where are you from?”, I asked.

The bartender offered me another drink, but I refused. I needed to save my money at this point.

“Right here in town. What you see here and outside has been my whole life.”

To say I was fascinated would be an understatement. It’d been a long, exhausting journey getting here from a small town in Georgia. I saw upon my arrival that this Western town was anything but simple to navigate. Nothing could stop me though. I wanted what California offered. I’d heard only of the potential the mines

had and needed someone who had an in. Who could get me what I craved.