How many true friends do you have? I am not talking about acquaintances, or “buddies” or friends from work, I am talking about friends that are so close to you that you can confide in them, cry to them, laugh with them – and spend every waking moment for an entire week with them and still miss them when that week is over? I have a true friend like this – and her name is Montel.

The funny thing is that without our collective love for South Park – we would never have met. If I decided not to send in my review of South Park : Bigger, Longer and Uncut to Comedy Central and she had not decided to join the South Park Booster Club – we probably never would have met.

But thanks to South Park, I not only met Montel, I have forged one of the truest and tightest friendships I have ever made.

Montel as a friend is generous, interesting, funny, witty – and someone that I look forward to hearing from. Despite the distance between us, we manage to speak almost every day and tell each other the goings on in our separate lives. There are friends that live only minutes from me that do not share that type of daily banter with me – but Montel does – which is why I decided to travel to Alaska to meet her.

When I got off the plane and saw her in person for the first time – the obvious jubilee set in – but that excitement of meeting for the first time quickly dissolved and turned into our natural camaraderie that we experienced for the past six months – but this time – in person.

As a person, Montel is a beautiful, outgoing, young woman with a good head on her shoulders that has a lot to offer to any man she meets. She is able to take care of herself, has better survival skills then any of the friends I know – and is bound to make a lucky man very happy one day. I have met many women in my life and have come to realize that some have it together – and some do not and never will. Montel is one of those ladies that not only has it together – but has managed to own her own home before her thirtieth birthday. This is one lady that is sure to have a bright future ahead of her.

In the week that I spent with her, there was not one moment that I wanted some “space”, or would have preferred a moment away from her. Whether we were fishing, eating, drinking – or doing absolutely nothing – she was always fun to be with. Even when I had to do the South Park Digest, speak to my mom – or call Christine and tell her I love her – she was always accommodating – and never annoyed that I had things to do. She even went so far as to buy me gifts, cook me a deer roast – and be the most hospitable person I have ever spent time with.

It may be months before I see Montel again, but when I do, I am going to give her the biggest hug she has ever gotten. Although the plane I am currently on is still flying over the state that she lives in – the time we have spent in that state together is over – and we will once again have to share each other’s company over the telephone. But despite the fact that we are once again on other sides of the planet – the friendship that began as a telephone conversation and recently culminated in a week together – will now continue to grow until we once again are able to stand in the same room together.

Thanks Montel for a wonderful week in your hometown. You are a beautiful person that I hope and pray will have a happy, successful – and love filled life. From your friends, to your family – to your adorable dog – you are surrounded by love from people that really care about you as a person – and rest assured that there is someone all the way in Brooklyn, New York that cares about you too – and looks forward to seeing you again.

Thanks for everything Montel – see you in October.