This image was lost some time after publication.

Something about the arrival of May, be it the fresh, spring air, the nearly daily revelations about the deepening seriousness of certain illegal wiretapping investigations, or the imminent arrival of the summer's first blockbuster, has inspired powerful men to issue heartfelt expressions of their ardor to their friends and collaborators. No sooner had we finished weeping over Ron Meyer's public declaration of friendship with Anthony Pellicano than the waterworks began anew after discovering Tom Cruise's paean to J.J. Abrams, the man whom he handpicked as midwife of his cinematic vision for Mission: Impossible III:, for the Time 100:

A story this size isn't enough for this man. It's hard to convey with brevity the extraordinary experience of knowing and working with J.J. Abrams. First of all, is there anything in a nam—J.J.? Look at the Jays we have no—Jay Leno, J. Lo, Jay-Z—but he's got two Js.

He was born to impinge and invade pop culture. Any person who has been exposed to his TV creations Alias or Lost has felt the rapture of his storytelling. He is a story dealer. He delivers what could be called the Lay's of yarns: you can't watch just one. I watched all of Alias' first season in two days, pushing all aside to the near destruction of my personal and business life. I had to tear myself away. They harken back to the classic cliffhangers of early cinema serials, with the bravado of my favorite pulp-fiction novel—the adventure, the characters, all of it. I just couldn't get enough. And in spite of the trepidations of many and sundry movie executives, I knew it was a no-brainer to hire him to direct the third Mission: Impossible. I couldn't wait to work with the Double J. We had great fun laying waste to the specious barriers and the each-person-does-his-own-job structure of filmmaking. J.J., who is just 39, even did three Industrial Light & Magic special-effects shots in the movie personally. He is an actor, writer, director, closet cartoonist, a composer, puppeteer, puzzlemaker, humorist, modelmaker, loving husband to his beautiful wife (can you believe this coincidence?) Katie and father of three glorious children. Gotta give it up for that J2.

Indeed, the coincidence that both men found Katies to marry and that Cruise has finally upped his child count to three makes us suspicious that... You know what? Fuck the tinfoil-hatted conspiracy theories for a minute, turn to your nearest beloved co-worker, and join him or her in a hearty, back-slapping embrace. (Impromptu nicknaming based on one's initials is optional.) Tom's giddy mash note has taught us that today is all about crazy, unselfconscious expressions of love.