As the gathering of online friends continued nightly, we found ourselves not caring what anyone outside of our group thought.  When once we were uncomfortable in real life around certain people, we now had our own group of friends who became more like family.  Weeks turned into months and months into years.  We knew without a doubt the loyalty of this group of friends.

Back to our online forum aka “lounge” days.

Sir Shyknight and his friend, Fogel, finally felt comfortable enough in the group to move into private conversations.  Shyknight was only lurking in the lounge due to Fogel insisting he take a look around.  Fogel was, indeed, the more outspoken one, but these two together were a force to be reckoned with.  While they had their playful and silly side (as I recall a certain gentleman writing that he was dancing around his office chair, which made me giggle), they each had hearts as big as the universe!

Now, remember early on I thought I had chosen a screen name no one would recognize and thought surely no one would be able to find me.  Imagine the shock I had the morning I picked up the telephone at work and heard the caller on the other end speak my name.  The accent was strong, and I knew immediately this was not someone from the deep South such as myself.  Intrigued by the northern accent and soft yet manly voice that was speaking to me in such a familiar way,  imagine my shock and dismay when he announced he was none other than Shyknight!

How was this possible?

Frozen right where I sat, I struggled with my words.

How did he find me?

He began to speak of the subtle clues I had given him at first, and then more telling details, which unknowingly to me, allowed him to track me down.  Without telling him the name of my employer during our conversations, I soon learned there weren’t many bridge companies in the south!

Ah, to be young and naive. Meanwhile, Shyknight turned out not to be quite as shy as even HE had thought, for he reached out to me!

He soon calmed my fears and let me know he was not a threat to us.  Whew!  I remember a wave of relief washing over me as he warned of the dangers of the online world while we were speaking on the phone.  The thought brings a smile to this very day.  A “stranger” I met online was warning me of the dangers of giving too many details to strangers online that might lead to them finding me in real life!  EEK!!

These two were not a threat at all but were, instead, bright lights piercing the darkness.  Having learned of my whereabouts, I soon learned why they tracked me down.   They were behind every care package that arrived for my daughter and me during the early years.  Such thought was put into every package, and I have no doubt it was sealed with love each time.  From macaroni and cheese to stuffed animals, they chose items for my young daughter to surprise her and added treats for me that warmed my heart.  What a blessing it was to receive the boxes full of goodies. No one had ever done anything like that for us before.