To my favorite good ole boy/hip hop head: Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

Matthew is one of the all-time BEST things to come out of my law school experience. I could never have dreamed that one of my closest friends would be a conservative Christian Republican from Appomattox, VA. We are so diametrically opposed, yet we're incredibly close. He's the person I call for a reality check, commiseration, and pure laughs.

How we met: Priya (not her real name), an Indian woman at my law school, had been gunning to get me married off, or at least "thinking in the right way." I only wish I were kidding. My usual tactic had been to just walk away, also known as the "cut and run." She was on to that maneuver, so I had added the "misunderstanding" to my game. Example: she told me about a "nice guy" she worked with, and I commented on how important it is to get along with co-workers, and then took off (combo move- extra points!)

This fateful day, I was seated at a table in the atrium taking sign-ups for Lexis (r) classes (i.e. a sitting duck.) I had just introduced Priya to Sapna. Priya turned to me and said in the sing-song voice that heralds impending doom, "Sapna is a nice married lady." HORRIFYING! As it turns out, Sapna was also scarred by the experience, but in war - sometimes it's every soldier for herself. I pretended to not understand what Priya was getting at. I hadn't even noticed the guy signing up for some class because my vision had narrowed to the problem at hand.

"I think she's saying that you should get married" said Unhelpful Guy. How I could have killed him.

Such great friendship from such inauspicious beginnings.

When I was in California last summer, I'd save his phone messages for days and replay them, just to hear his accent. It's like listening to a smile. And have you ever heard French with a Southern accent? You're missing out.

I enjoy people for their contradictions, so I love that his heart is in bluegrass, but he always knows the latest Luda. (I've often said that Matthew and I could have a cable-access show called "Matthew and D decrypt the hip hop lyrics.") Matthew has a horrendous fear of giving speeches, but is the most natural, affable, engaging and charming speaker I know. (And despite this fear, he was our SBA president.) Matthew is incredibly humble and bombastic to humorous effect. Like most of my male friends, he's a bit of a chick (in the "what did he mean when he said that??" way), but every inch the Southern gentleman.

And the dimples, could he be any more adorable? I think not.