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I am prompted to write this after reading about Jeremy Bosch.
Back before the internet browser wars of the mid 90’s, I belonged to a email listserv called “Gator Talk” (at least that is what I think it was called). This group of emails would be delivered to my email inbox on a daily basis. I remember waiting what seemed like hours over my 2400bps modem to read the hundreds of daily comments that filled my inbox. Time passed and technology brought on the internet in faster and more accessible formats. One day while I was reading through the many emails someone made a note about a message board for Gator fans on the internet. Curious, I surfed over to the virtual swamp and have been hooked ever since.
I am mainly a lurker who posts from time to time when I feel my thoughts on a topic have not already been represented by someone else or add a unique view to the topic. After lurking for years, I felt a sense of belonging to a community. It’s strange really, but true nonetheless. So much so, that when my wife of 13 years and mother of my four children asked me for a divorce, I turned to two sources for help and guidance: My family and the Virtual Swamp. Now, some of you reading this may think that is crazy. I would. I don’t know exactly why I turned to the VS. My best guess is that over the years, I learned that the VS regulars were a sincere group of people, they were fellow Gators (I really do believe in a “Gator Nation”), and it didn’t hurt that some of them were lawyers and might be able to point me in the right direction legally. So, I posted a request for some legal advice explaining some of the basics and expressing some emotions. I had hoped that a poster or two would direct me to a local lawyer. What I got instead was unexpected and life changing.
First, I got PLENTY of legal advice from both lawyers and non-lawyers. I ultimately hired GoldenGator to represent me in my proceedings. Thank you Golden. But what was surprising and somewhat overwhelming (in a good way) were the personal emails I received from many of the regulars who had been through a divorce, offering their help. There were many who emailed and all were helpful, but I would be remiss not to specifically thank Mudlizard and Flea for their extra time, patience, and advice they offered through that time. It was the lowest point I have ever reached and at one point I truly thought my life was over. Thanks to my family and to my friends here on the VS, I made it through.
But the story does not end there. When I posted those basic details of my divorce, I posted enough information that one of the regulars on the board recognized who I was in real life and sent me a personal email. She was a former professor of mine. I had no idea that she posted on the VS. Long story short, she was instrumental in encouraging me and identifying the resources for me to return to UF and work towards a Ph.D. That is where I find myself today, a graduate student at UF working towards a future that I never imagined possible. Thank you BabySister.
I have since thanked each of these people personally or through emails for their help though that time of my life. I never posted this publicly because I figured it would be somewhat boring and irrelevant to many of the posters on the board not involved. However, after reading about Jeremy Bosch, I thought I’d share my story in the event that some lurker out there is suffering and feels like they are alone. If so, know that you are indeed NOT alone. The people behind these icons are real and they care. The VS is a sports board but more than that it is a community of people who struggle with the everyday just like everyone else. What makes them special is that they transcend the ordinary in their capacity to reach out and try to make the lives of those around them better.
I still marvel at how ONE post to the VS has so dramatically changed the course of my life for the better. Thank you.
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How the VS changed my life Product of the system 1/16/2007 - 12:28 a.m.
