Thank You, Mr. Kraus

Monday's good fortune was not just limited to a pavilion and a TV for the night, as it turns out. And not just limited to two guys on bikes, either.

Bryan Kraus was one of the first guys I lived with in college. We weren't roommates, but lived in the same suite in adjacent rooms. The guy who was his roommate was the polar opposite of Bry--huge, loud, annoying, often drunk (or something), and yet to give him a little credit, often wildly entertaining. I remember thinking then what a saint Bryan must be to put up with that, knowing there was no possible way he could have ever done anything bad enough to deserve it. Yet he took it in stride, in his quiet, observant, peaceful way, and in the end I think they were actually pretty well-suited roomies.

The passing years have brought many changes (as passing years often do). Bryan has chopped his flowing blond hair and is now sporting the shorter, cleaner cut endorsed by 'the man.' Beards have come and gone, not just for him but many of us who spent our mid-twenties (or early thirties in Ben's case, hehe) trying out new identities. Friends, too, have grown closer or drifted apart--to put it simply, life has happened, even though (as the saying goes), sometimes we were busy doing other things.

But some things haven't changed, and as Bryan and I have become great friends I've been able to see that he's the same kind, generous, all-around terrific guy who I met back in August 1999. Despite the fact that we now live in different corners of the country, have real jobs (okay, not me), and busy lives, Kraus and I along with Ben and Jimmy Acid (Mr. Beach to his students) have somehow remained close. We are like the Four Musketeers (including d'Artagnon), and of all the things I'm proud to have left college with my friendship with these guys tops the list.

Now I mentioned Bryan is generous, and not just 'cause he donated handsomely to our bike trip, which he did. When I talked to him for 45 minutes Monday night from the comfort of the Willis Pavilion, he shared some overwhelming news. In true Kraus form, he told me he intended to make a donation "in our honor" to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, an organization that seeks a cure for and serves patients with blood-related cancers. He is donating six-hundred dollars out of his own pocket, which his company (Microsoft) is going to match! There really isn't a way to thank him enough, but I promise you I'll sure try. I am blown away and humbled, and I can only hope that people choose to judge me by the quality of my friends.

And Bry, if it doesn't work out with that woman you're seeing, there's a whole lot of ladies reading this forming a line right now.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry