It wasn't until I found a note written by Shannon that got me looking for her online... there are millions on MySpace.

I actually found her.  Amazing what a Google search and some time can do.  And then, a MySpace search from what I learned from Google...

Sounds like Shannon is doing well.  Married with a 2 year old.  Happy.  :)  The Office Depot days, specifically at store 369 on Memorial Parkway... we had a lot of fun, but also a lot of work.  Somehow, we knew how to balance it.  Of course, a day didn't go by that I didn't piss off a customer or two!  Haha... Shannon is just one whom I have found online that worked there.  Samantha and Sheila (who I think only worked at store 69 but I also knew her from Food World, too.)... and my friend Roger, who's on my friends list, too.

So, I went through some old emails and started looking for other old friends... and I found Becca.  Oh, how I loved her back in the day.  The distance was too great like most... She in Oregon.  I was in Alabama.  I was just 21 and in school.  She was 18 and in school.  We chatted on these old TELNET programs called "EW-TOO" talkers... chatrooms, in other words.  I am so glad to have found her again.  Now living in Ohio.  She's a doll.  I only wished that she lived down here in GA... I am happy that she is coming for a visit soon... how soon?  Probably not soon enough!  Heck, she might not want to go back! :)

And then, I looked for another friend fro mthe talker days.  Shana.  I remember visiting Shana and her best friend Carrie in Knoxville in 96 (thank goodness I kept my old DayRunner for just such an occasion).  Another Google search and I found her at UGA... That's not too far from here.  After some brief emails, she has some bad news for me.  Carrie had died in early 2006 of leukemia... I have such fond memories of not only the trip to Knoxville but also a trip to Nashville where we met up with my high school friend, Joseph... She was such a fun and beautiful person.  I am very saddened by this news.  But there is more, Shana's 2 brothers were killed in a car accident recenly... I can only imagine her loss.  On the bright side, however, she's engaged and will be relocating to TN very soon.  I am very happy for her but also feel for her and her loss.

Such highs and lows that the last 24 hours have been.  My heart goes out to Shana and her family.  It also goes out to Carrie's family including her young daughter she left behind.

Almost decade has gone by since the "talker" days... and remembering the friends that I had online that also became friends offline... I have kept up a few friendship from those days.  Stephanie S., and Amy L. (now married) from the talkers.  And Heather M. from INN/TSN are all that I had kept up with.  But now, I have found 2 more.  MySpace might be a technical nightmare from time to time, but the fact that it has helped me reunite with some old friends is powerful.