This is a hard one to write. As much pain as I feel, I know Mrs. Eight hurts even more; not to mention his dear BUFF, Marcus.
I met Eight nearly 5 years ago. Originally, he worked as a host at our club. Eventually, he wanted to be a DJ. To quote him when I asked about his experience, “Absolutely None as an SL DJ…. But don’t let that put you off….”. I didn’t. We had our voice chat to explain how things roll, and I knew this man was going to be great on air. I was right. He surpassed anyone’s expectations. After some time passed, he wanted to start creating things for the club. About 2-1/2 years ago, he became one of my closest friends. We’d talk about anything and everything. He would ask if I had “a few minutes,” and I knew that meant to clear my schedule for the next hour or two. We spoke nearly daily during the week (unless Mrs. Eight was on – she took precedence, of course!) for those 2 plus years. He was always excited about the new ideas he had for us, and whether I thought we needed it didn’t matter, his enthusiasm was infectious, and I knew I needed whatever he built. It was the little things that got him so excited, and it was impossible to not be excited as well. I always felt he did too much, but he just blew that off as if the work he did was nothing. He genuinely enjoyed everything he did.
To say my days aren’t the same since he passed would be an understatement. I still expect him to pop on and say “voice?” When I hear the sound of an IM go off in the late morning/early afternoon, I expect it to be him. You don’t get the chance to meet many genuinely nice, kind, wonderful people in Second Life. Eight is one of those few people. Eight, myself, and Marcus were probably an interesting group to be such amazing friends, but it worked. They knew when to give me a little kick when I needed it for the better of the club. Neither are afraid to be honest with me, nor me with them. I include Marcus here because he is Eight’s “BUFF,” and that relationship was so amazing to see. I’ll always be grateful to call Eight a dear friend, because he is. Our friendship is different now, but it doesn’t end. He will forever live in our hearts.
You may know by now that Totally 80’s has moved to its own sim. Eight was HEAVILY involved with that. I’m grateful he saw it come to fruition because he wanted this for me, for the club, for all of us. One of our last conversations was him telling me how proud he was of me and what I’d done. If you know Eight, you know what a big deal that is.
We’ll always love and miss you, Eight. We’ll be here for Mrs. Eight. I’m grateful you gave us the chance to meet and get to know her. ♥
