Anniversary is such funny word, don't you think?
It's my 13th anniversary in Gothador and it seems so strange...strange because I remember how vibrant and active both the game itself and this community were. Now, the game is a ghost town and these forums are like an old, empty mansion...silent except for the occasional whisper of a Phantom passing through. Rooms haunted by memories of the people who passed into my life because of it--some of whom remain, and some who have passed on.
I could suppose that it's the morbid fascination with old, broken things--like derelict ships or abandoned trains--that keep me coming back (there's little reason to actually play anymore, except that I still love my characters), but truth be told it is that I am grateful.
There's another funny word. Grateful. Growing up, I spelled it "greatfull". It just made more sense to me that one was 'full of great emotion', rather than full of "a frame of metal bars for holding fuel when burning, as in a fireplace, furnace, or stove". Heh. Anyway...
If it weren't for this place, there is so much I would have missed out on. I surely wouldn't be writing in my own Universe. I wouldn't have been blessed with my life-partner. There would be no memories of Andor's humor, and no conversations with Frank. And no delight in knowing that two of the games I now play will never hold a candle to Gothador in its heyday.
So happy anniversary to me, in this strange and formerly wonderful place. It's been grate. Er...great. 
Cheers.
I'm still a slacker...lol
