I'm continually amazed by the ramifications of decisions made in years past. Knowing Danny is a regular reminder about the chain reactions tied to me hanging out with him and some of his friends for a weekend in NYC about 10 years ago. Actually, the chain of events associated with knowing Danny kicked-off several years earlier when I had the incredibly good fortune of working with Susan in the Bay Area. Susan and I became close friends and she would eventually introduce me to her little bro.

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After the first .com/tech bubble exploded in the Bay Area I, like so many others, was left wondering how in the hell I would pick up the pieces and forge ahead. After many months of trying to recover I made a leap of faith and showed up on the doorstep of another buddy in Arlington, VA - in search of a new beginning. While I was living/working in Arlington I took a short trip up to NYC and briefly connected with Danny. We had a great time (most likely til all hours of the morning!) and the NYC seed was officially planted. Danny knew I was frustrated with my situation in Arlington and also knew that I had always wanted to live/work in NYC, but I was never able to pull the trigger. Upon leaving NYC Danny said "Yo, my door is always open to you if you want to give NYC a shot". That simple offer of generosity was EXACTLY what I needed to change the course of my life.................in so many positive ways!

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Not long after I connected with Danny in NYC I was packing up my things (which all fit in to a few suitcases) and heading back to NYC. I'm sure Danny was seriously reconsidering his offer when I actually showed up on his stoop suitcases in hand, not knowing anyone other than him on that concrete island, broke as hell and jobless. And it was "on" as they say. Within the first couple of nights of being in NYC Danny introduced me to Scott Atkinson (a very interesting character in his own right who lived across the street) and within a week of knowing Scott I had landed a job at the company Scott worked at. I remained at that company for just under 5 years - it was an amazing ride at a Cinderella story internet tech company. So, for the first couple of months of being in NYC I worked hard.......and we played even harder........taking full advantage of the city that never sleeps!

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Just as I was starting to settle in to the NYC life Danny was ready to escape the NYC life. He was headed to live in San Diego.......surfs up! Danny took off for SD and let me stay at his NYC apartment while I continued to get on my feet. That apartment was amazing........especially considering I was fresh off the boat. Looking back I probably should have taken more advantage of living in that killer crib solo for those months........damn it!

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Fast forward a year or so and I found myself visiting Danny in SD for a weekend away from the concrete jungle. We went out for a night of craziness in downtown SD the first night and I quickly realized that I didn't think I could last another night in Cali (no last call at 1:45 am in NYC!). So, on the way home that night we booked a trip to Vegas the next morning. Vegas baby! True to form Danny had the red carpet rolled out for us when we arrived in Vegas. We proceeded to party like rock stars for the next 2 days. On the second night of that party adventure Danny pulled another rabbit out of his hat. We were rollin' into the club (with at least 100 hundred people queued-up behind us) VIP style courtesy of Danny, and yet there was something missing........we didn't have any young ladies with us! So, we sent Danny off to do some recruiting from the masses that were waiting to get in. About 5 minutes later Danny showed up with two attractive young ladies to accompany us. To make a VERY long (but fantastically comical and sincere) story short, I fell for one of those young ladies (Ellie) and married her in 2009. What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas.

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Danny has had a major impact on my life for all the reason, and several more, stated above. It's pretty cool to think about how Danny's generosity and thoughtfulness have had such an impact on my life. We don't get to connect much these days, but when we do it's like we've been in touch regularly. Danny is real and that's not something we can say about everyone we cross paths with in life.

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Happy 40th Danny! Welcome to the 40 club.........I've been waiting for you!

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