On March 19, 2024, I sent tulips to my good friend Kent. I’m pretty sure he’s the only man to whom I have ever sent flowers. It was our fourth anniversary. And we were both feeling proud of our accomplishment.
Four years of what?
Well, the answer to that question is not straightforward. Or maybe it’s better to say it’s multidimensional. It definitely requires more than a sentence or two.
So let’s go back in time.
I met Kent somewhere around 2008. I was asked to appear in a promotional video for the Collingswood Public Library. Kent—along with his then filmmaking partner, Ernie—was asked to shoot and direct. For a time, Kent and I lived across the street from each other on Haddon Ave in Collingswood, New Jersey. We became friendly. I hired Kent and Ernie to make a book trailer for me. Kent would go on to make a second Matthew Quick book trailer. After I moved out of the Garden State, Kent and I hung out whenever I visited the Philadelphia area. We went to the movies a few times. Kent was (and still is) a stalwart supporter of my work. Like All-Pro. Second to no one expect maybe Alicia and my mom.
While Kent and I never lost touch, by early 2020, I hadn’t lived in South Jersey for almost a decade and—well, let’s just say I had never sent Kent flowers before. There was no anniversary to mark. No commitments had been made. We didn’t even talk regularly.
Then at the start of the pandemic, Kent and I had a life-changing phone conversation. The gist went like this:
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