Let’s go back to high school for a second. Meet Matt Wilson:

Matt joined our school senior year as a new student, something I’m glad I never had to experience. He came from Missouri, which at the time felt about as far away as the Czech Republic. Most new kids spend the first few weeks in an awkward silence, taking it all in and trying to forge some kind of path. Matt could have easily mailed it in – I mean, he wouldn’t be establishing any longstanding relationships, since he’d only be there for a year before we’d all splinter off for college.

Turns out Matt was outgoing from the start and didn’t have any problem at all engraining himself into our school. And he was funny. We all really got a kick out of his catch phrase, “The King.” If something was really cool, it would be “the king.” If I told him I went to the Bruins game last night and it was a fight-filled extravaganza, it was the king. He would jokingly say he was the king. As you can see in the yearbook picture, that’s his little quote. Funny. Matt and I became pretty good friends. I took him to the Bruins-St. Louis game and we spent the whole game basically making fun of each others teams. Being from the mid-west, he was a wrestler, too. Naturally.  He also hooked up with the foreign exchange student in a car during our Senior Banquet after-party. There was a lot of foot traffic around that car, so he was the hit of the class the next week or so. Just an all-around good guy.

But just like that, we all went to college and we never heard from Matt again. I think he actually went to Brigham-Young University, but my memory may be failing me. This is the classic “I wonder whatever happened to?”

For those of you who are really that curious, here’s the text of what he wrote to me in the yearbook:

Bro, as seniors we have ruled, or perhaps I should say I have ruled, you followed. But we did finally make it across the finish line. I hope to see you face-down in the gutter this summer.

Matt

ps – the Bruins suck

And yes, he’s the one who wrote “sexy boy” up next to his own picture. Dork! Would love to hear what that dude is up to these days….