A long time ago, in a career field far away, I was bored one
day at work. I was on the Eonline web
site, looking at TV spoilers, when I stumbled across the message boards. There was this funny message threat about
what happened at the office today. I started
reading and there were these pretty funny chicks on there, telling about the
stupid stuff they were dealing with at work.
I started commenting.
Pretty soon, there were a group of us that clicked. We decided to start our own thread on the
boards. The Super Cyber Friends were
born. Everyone got a nickname. I became QoE.
Everyone chose a name. We hung
out together every day on the boards. We
became friends. Eventually we became
family. Our own little cyber family of
awesome.
Along the way we gained and lost members. Some came and went without really staying
long. Others just didn’t click. Somewhere in all the fun, we managed to
collect a college guy who loved our brand of crazy and hung around to be silly
with us. It was the best of times.
It’s been a decade since we started our SCF adventure. Today, we have a secret private group page on
FB. The core group is still there,
including our college guy. Except now he’s
all grown up and graduated and being Dr. Eyeball. We are supremely proud of him. We’ve had some fights. We had an implosion at one point that
fractured the group and there was tension for a while. But, eventually we mended hearts and got back
to a happy place.
We’ve watched as those in the group finish school and get
jobs and promotions. Get married and
have kids and build lives. Moves across
the country. Divorces. Deaths.
When I got married, one of my first phone calls was to one of the group
to declare it official. When I lost a
job and posted something on the board about just finding out, my phone rang within
minutes. The troops always rally. On June 6, 2006, my mailbox was flooded with
cards that declared it Queen of Evil day.
I treasure them all.
One has a deep love for cheese. Another an equally deep hatred of
blueberries. She even sent me a video
once of her attempting to eat a blueberry.
It was fantastic. Another loves
to torment me about my dislike of The Evil Pink. Anything I ever get from her is pink. One year, I sent her a present, wrapped in
pink, pink, and more pink. It was
painful, but it was worth it. There are
a few that sing with beautiful and amazing voices. They can discuss classical arias or current
hits in the same breath. And nothing is
as fun as the conversations that arise from our fascination with Jack the
Ripper and Lizzy Borden lore.
We vary in ages spanning three decades. Some are in the medical and legal
fields. Several in insurance and
education. There’s a writer in the
mix. Her Opus. I hope to read it someday. Big cities, small towns. East Coat, West Coast, and even the Land of
Oz. We are a crazy mix of personalities,
and come from all walks of life. Big
city, small town, and everything in between.
We are all uniquely different, and yet we are all peas in a pod.
Two have become the best of friends. They are the Thelma and Louise of the
group. They may live far apart, but they
take trips together and it just warms my heart every time I see something with
the two of them pop up in my feed. Others
have met up and visited with each other over the years. I have had one crash at my house on a couple
of occasions. A couple of us went up to
another’s wedding for a weekend. I have
met two others at separate times for a meal when they came through town. Recently I got short notice that one was
coming down for an event with her kids and we were able to hang on the
weekend. I managed not to cry when I saw
her then, but I do tear up thinking about it now.
These ladies (and one gent) are an integral part of my
life. We celebrate victories and mourn
losses together. Still, after all this
time. We share pictures and stories and
an unwavering devotion to our honorary mascot, The Hoff. We have inside jokes and things that we share
because as soon as we see it, we think of the group. It’s an amazing thing.
And I am determined that someday, somehow, I will get to spend
time with the others, in person. I will
find a way to make it happen.
Eventually. But until then, we have the internet. And email.
And phone calls or texts. I think
of them, each one of them, every single day.
They are my tribe. And this is my
love letter to them.
Thank you, my beloved SCFs, for always being there. For loving and sharing and celebrating this
crazy life together. Here’s to the last
decade. May we share many, many more
together.
