Matt & I first met in the early 2000’s when we were in Jr High band, he was in 8th grade and I in 7th. Though, our first true recollection of having met and having any interaction occurred when we were attending Muse Machine performances together with some of our classmates. (Muse Machine was an afterschool group of students who attended various performances of plays, concerts/symphonies, ballets, etc put on in various theaters in our area).

After Jr. High, we met again in High School Marching Band, under the direction of Kathy McIntosh & John Purdy. We were mere acquaintances until the later end of our HS band years. We became better acquainted and even blossomed a friendship while we, along with the rest of our Marching Band family and friends were in London, England for the ‘05/‘06 New Year’s Day Parade. As I recall we spent about a week over there. While there, we all ventured out in our downtime from performing to see, explore, and experience all that London had to offer. Amidst all the hustle and bustle, being the introvert that I tend to be, I did find myself in situations where, even surrounded by all the people I knew and was familiar with, with all the noise filling the gaps, feeling alone. For most of my life, I’ve felt this way, and have learned to not only embrace the solitude, but to also enjoy it. Being in London, as an introverted teen, was one of the first times I enjoyed that perceived solitude. However, on New Year’s Eve Night, just before the countdown to midnight, I did not; so, as I tried to sneak back up the grand staircase to my room, Matt just happened to be there, on his way out the door to enjoy the fireworks that would soon be going on. He saw me when I felt invisible, and stopped me as I was midway up the stairs. He didn’t hesitate to ask where I was going, and being the kind man that he is, immediately invited me to join him and our classmates outside to celebrate the coming New Year.

The next chapter of our story began a few years after we both graduated from HS. Matt went on to enlist in the Army National Guard, and I was learning who I am, and working my way through my twenties. Social media was the newest “thing” back then (2008 or so), and while on his way home from his first deployment in Kuwait, we managed to find each other again and started messaging cordially, at first. Then, what started out as cordial grew into a friendship; our conversations were easy and enjoyable. We were able to talk as if we’d been friends all along!