Years ago, back before my husband was anything more than my attractive nieghbor, he wasn't exactly talented at picking up women. His offer to take me to see new born puppies at a friends home was rather unoriginal, and would lead to many jokes later on. I, of course, accepted the offer. The friend wasn't home when we got there- so we watched the puppies for a little while and left. It wouldn't be long before I "knew" all of his friends, despite the fact that I'd never met any of them, as they were almost always brought up in conversations between him and I. I quickly understood that I was entering into a tight knit circle of people who cared about each other like family. Soon, I'd find out just how loving these people were. On one of our first dates, we went downtown to a music festival. All of his friends would end up being there, and I nervous to say the least. One of the first glimpses I caught of this group of late thirty somethings was a small man, w...