I realize that I have been absent from here as of late and that will be explained in a future post. For now, I want to tell you a story of a friend of mine, Michael. He was able to see the L.A. Kings win the Stanley Cup due to a complete stranger’s kindness. It’s people like this guy that gives me hope for humanity. This is what Michael wrote:

I was able to witness the LA Kings hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup due to the complete altruism and overreaching kindness of Brett, this complete stranger standing next to me. I am still in disbelief that what transpired actually happened. Let me explain. I wanted the Kings to win in 4. That way it would be in New York and I wouldn’t feel like I “missed” it, being all the way across the country. There just isn’t enough extra money right now to be able to get tickets. Well, as game 4 ended with a Kings loss and the Kings with a chance to win on home ice in Los Angeles, I began to browse the internet to gauge ticket prices and see if there was a snowball’s chance in Hell that I could snag a seat. With prices between $600-$20,000, there was just no way I could make it happen, not with the unsteady work and bills already piling up. I tried craigslist to see if maybe I could find a face value deal or something of the like, and came across a posting simply titled “The Gift of the Stanley Cup – Join me for Game 5”. Upon clicking, I read about a guy who had gotten the chance to take his brother ( a huge Chicago Blackhawks fan) to Boston to witness the Hawks hoist the Cup. He said that because of the joy he saw in his brother, he wanted to be able to share that feeling again with someone that would enjoy it just as much. A King’s fan. So I opened my email and sent him a letter describing my love for all things hockey, and especially my love for the Kings. How I grew up watching them on fuzzy bunny ear tube televisions and how I used to tie pillows to my legs and wear a blue bandana so that I could pretend to be Kelly Hrudey. I hit send and went to bed. The next day I checked my inbox religiously, hoping that maybe it was legit and just maybe he would pick me. As the night before game 5 wound down, I fell asleep without a response, but when I awoke on game day, there was a message waiting for me. It said, “Welcome to Game 5. Want to join me at Staples Center tonight?” I was in shock. I still didn’t think it was true. We exchanged a few texts and I agreed to meet him at the Luxe, where he was staying. I made the trek to downtown and texted him when I got to the lobby. Even to that point, I thought it could still possibly be a prank or scam or something. Instead, he shows up, proceeds to be a super normal, interesting guy, has 2 tickets 12 rows off the ice, refuses to let me buy a single thing, buys me beer the whole game, and buys me beer after the game to celebrate. I can’t thank him enough for allowing me the opportunity to witness what I did. That had to have been the greatest game in King’s history up to this date, and I got to see it in the flesh, all thanks to a complete stranger I met on the internet. Life is such an adventure sometimes. It never ceases to blow my mind. Brett doesn’t have Facebook, so I can’t tag him in this, but I want as many people as possible to know about the epic kindness of this human being. It is truly a story that I will tell for ages and will definitely never forget. Thanks again Brett. P.S. I loaned him my Kopitar jersey so he would feel at home. — at Staples Center .