Memory is a funny thing, it is biased, and influenced, and very rarely accurate but I distinctly remember first meeting Kevin. Now I don’t remember the day or the month (perhaps 1999), or the circumstances, or even the reason but I remember Kevin walking into Marc’s room and it starting there. It’s peculiar, I haven’t thought about that moment for a long time. Moment… that word is how I define a lot of our time together. Not defined by month, or time of day, or duration, or circumstance but in the experiences we have.
I could spend the next ten pages remembering and describing moments. Club D weekends, Wildwood week, Kutztown trips, University of Florida, random shore trips, shows, Festivus, Phillies Sunday games, ugly sweater parties, Entourage nights, Vegas, weddings; the memories come flooding back when you really sit and think. You do a lot, see a lot, and learn a lot from being friends for 17 years.
I just wanted to share one memory I have with Kevin. K and I invited him over one night to ask him to be our best man in our wedding; we gave him no indication of why we had invited him over. He showed up, tentative, nervous, slightly off kilter. This is the best way to get a true emotional response from Kevin; don’t give him any time to prepare. The moment he realized is a moment I will never forget. It was this moment; this space, not defined by time or events or people but by a friendship, a friendship that had ups and downs, had changed and grown and matured, and had become stronger. I am sure many have a similar story, a defining moment, no matter how small or inconsequential to someone else, where Kevin did something, said something that solidified your friendship. Something that made you realize this friendship transcends events; it is those moments like the one you are thinking about now. I am eagerly looking forward to my next one of these moments with Kevin and I am sure you are as well.
Kevin has magnetism, an innate ability to draw people into one of his many circles and keep them there. This was never more evident than the sheer turnout for the 1st Annual ‘Kev’s Kause’ golf outing: the attendance, the donations & atmosphere, all inspired by and for Kevin. It would be impossible for me explain the range of emotions I felt that day. It was beyond my most ambitious dreams.
I just want to remind Kevin and everyone; this is not the end of his story. Look around; chapters close and new ones begin all time. Most of us have one or two kids now (what???), Adam is married (still wondering how??), and despite moving miles away, everyone refuses to lose touch. This is just his new chapter starting… waiting for new moments to be written and remembered; it’s just a little more unique than everyone else’s --just like Kevin.