From Rose:
Matthew loved fireworks. New Year’s Eve in Hawaii one year, we watched fireworks go off all across Honolulu from our place at the top of a hill. Thirty minutes before midnight, someone across the street must have decided they didn’t want to wait any longer. You can hear Matt’s casual approval with a “that’s pretty good” at the end of this video. It was nothing compared to the 10 different separate streams of fireworks across the city that came 30 minutes later, but it was magic.
From Katie:
Matthew always loved my pets. I had a dog, cat, lizard, and two fish tanks in 2020. He learned the names of my fish and always asked me about how they were doing.
One of my fish, a pleco named Persephone, passed away. Matt had the idea we should hold a funeral for her, before flushing her down the toilet. We sat around the toilet and he asked if anyone would like to say any words about her.
I was unsure what to say.
Matt said “Okay I’ll go”.
He paused. Then he said, “She was a good fish”.
I completely crumbled and cried in Matt’s arms.
Looking back, it seems ridiculous. But Matt was the best friend.
From Rae:
When I was in college, Matthew and our brother Zach came to visit me all by themselves, all the way out in California.
I wanted to give them a tour of the campus and show them where my classes were, so I brought them to the biology building and walked them around the classrooms and hallways. I looked away for a minute, I swear, and I heard a “woosh!”
Matthew had noticed a handle hanging from the ceiling in the hallway and did the natural thing… he pulled it. Turns out that was the emergency shower for people exposed to chemical irritants. About 30 gallons of water had poured out of the ceiling above him, and I looked on in shock.
Better yet, there was a seminar going on in the large classroom nearby. The professor rushed out after hearing the commotion and I’m sure we got those students out of class that day.
Matt, Zach, and I just walked away. Why would there be a handle in a hallway if you weren’t supposed to pull it? It’s the only time I ever saw that thing in action. I loved Matthew for a lot of reasons, but his curiosity inspired me to be bold