Phillip is my best friend. My inspiration. My true north. If I were to share with you his life story, you’d think I was inflating reality, shaping the contours of his life so that it resembles the best of self help books. Let me start by saying that Phil is an autodidact in the best sense of the word. I admit I had to look the word up when Phil used it to describe himself. The thing about Phil is that he always motivates me to get off my big, fat, lazy butt and try something new. Learn something. Maybe even improve the lot of humanity. He’s a bit unremitting that way. When he learned that I was going to deliver this toast, he insisted that we meet for breakfast at 6:45 last Tuesday at a diner near his home. He’s like that. Controlling. But in a good way. At breakfast he used the word autodidact in reference to himself. He raised his left eyebrow slightly and tapped my notebook as if to indicate I should write that word down.