Malcolm and I became friends when we were in the ninth grade at St. John's. I had heard about the quiet new kid from South America. No one knew very much about him. Before long, Malcolm was displaying his prodigious skills both on the soccer field and in the classroom. One of the first things he taught me and our 14 year old classmates is that there is actually a difference between South America and South Africa.

Malcolm's knowledge of the world as well as his tremendous depth and complexity made him an incredibly interesting and fun person to be around. To me what made Malcolm most special, was his sense of humor.

Everyone who crossed his path eventually found out how funny he really was. He was a master of the well-timed one-liner and they could come at any time, at any place, and in any situation. I learned one evening at a restaurant to be careful whenever I drank something in Malcolm's presence.
A couple of years ago, we were sitting at a bar eating Spanish tapas appetizers. I had just taken a huge sip of water and he said something to a complete stranger sitting next to me.
I don¹t remember exactly what he said, but it made me laugh so hard that the water in my mouth ended up hitting a cash register three feet away.

Shortly before his liver transplant, Malcolm was negotiating a deal from his hospital bed with a client that still owed Malcolm a commission. The client had been written off as bad debt by Malcolm's employer but he was still calling Malcolm to get help with new projects. I asked him why he was still talking to the guy. I never really understood it. Malcolm always seemed to find potential for a good outcome in every situation. Anyway, Malcolm began negotiating with the client and very forcefully told him that he really needed to pay his debt. Revealing his poor knowledge of human anatomy, the client offered to pay half his debt in addition to volunteering as an organ donor for Malcolm¹s transplant. They agreed to talk later. Malcolm called me shortly afterwards and told me about the conversation.

He asked, "Should I take the deal or tell him he only has one liver?"

Malcolm eventually struck a deal and used some of the commission to buy a new TV. Using that new TV, Malcolm became the first person in the history of Hermann Hospital to convince his surgeon to give him a four hour pass so that he could go home and throw a super bowl party for his friends.

Malcolm loved to travel and he took a month in the summer of 2000 to live in New York City. Shortly after arriving there, he got in touch with our friend Rick who had just gotten a spot as an extra in the series "Sex and the City". Rick called me the day after his taping and told me the following story. Here's what he said: "During the taping of the show, I was taking a nap on the couch in the casting room and awoke suddenly and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Malcolm casually helping himself to a sandwich and chatting with the actors and actresses. He wasn't an extra so I couldn't figure out how he gotten in there right off the street. Malcolm very proudly told me that he had talked his way past the uniformed policeman standing next to the door."

The funny thing was that it turned out that the policeman was just a costumed extra on the show that day.

Charles Tashima, another friend from high school sent an email to me yesterday. I'll read a paragraph now. "In all, what really comes to the fore was the sense of the mischievous in Malcolm¹s humor. I can see his face with that incredible smile - the best ones were when he looked like a cat that had swallowed a canary. For me that was the classic "Malcolm look." You knew that something was up ­ that something quite funny was about to happen or had already happened. This, among his countless other qualities, has had a profound effect upon me as I am sure it has on you."

There are thousands of these stories everywhere you turn. I only know mine and a few others but I would bet that if you were to ask the person next to you, they could tell you a funny story too.

If you would like to share a story about Malcolm or a picture of him, please visit this website. Within a couple of weeks this will be a place where you can share your stories and enjoy others as well.