On February 2, 1994, Karen visited a lawyer to help her buy a new business. By coincidence, the lawyer shared office space with Carmine, whom Karen had never met throughout years of Carmine pursuing a lawsuit against her. Learning he was there in the office, Karen insisted on meeting him. “We talked for over three hours and, after reviewing the case file, were stunned to discover that we had actually been scheduled to meet and attempt to settle the lawsuit exactly four years earlier—to the DAY.”

Two days after we met, Karen visited her lawyer and ran into Carmine again, telling him “I’ve never said this to a guy before, but I’d really like to go out on a date with you. Just tell me where and when.” After Carmine picked his chin up off the floor, we agreed to a date the following week. Carmine arrived at Karen’s door with a red rose, reciting Shakespeare. We went to dinner and a movie. Every year since, we go to the same restaurant (usually at the same table!) and watch that same movie.

That’s easy: we run a nonprofit hunger-relief charity that operates free “Community Markets”. Unlike typical food pantries, they are set in a grocery store environment, including shopping carts and supermarket-style shelving, to bring the greatest level of dignity and respect to the food assistance system in our country. We also want to remove the stigma from asking for help, and to normalize the food assistance process. We would donate the $20,000 prize to our charity, The Food Brigade.