First a little background:
I have a friend who I will call by the online handle I met him by, "Crazy", whom I first met over an online tournament I began playing as part of the Battlefield series my freshman year of college (~4 years ago). This is an interactive online military simulator that uses a game you go and buy in a store but adds a military hierarchy and command structure held together by the thousands of players across the world who play it - and utilizes a voice communication program (of which many of you are familiar, Teamspeak). Crazy was then a network administrator for a large telecom company but soon after becoming engrossed in the military simulation game "21st Century Warfare" (which we played together) he eventually entered into a business relationship with another player, bought the tournament, then bought a dozen other tournaments, expanded to form an internet hosting company (remember our first host?) and became its President and CTO. In fact, during our most catastrophic database crash, it was Crazy who helped Dark_rain and I salvage the fiction material.
While still only a player at the tournament, Crazy was my "Captain" in this online military simulator, himself a retired Navy veteran. He later rose to command the entire Coalition force (a size of 1000 players) in the role of a General, as I also did later, and then eventually bought the tourney and became its owner. It's hard to explain to those outside the tournament world how close the friendships made there can be, but I think those around here would have a better understanding than the average person, as we all run into that around here. Suffice it to say that lifelong friendships, even business arrangements, have come out of the connections people have made over there over the past 5 years.
We soon became good friends and as he was my commanding officer within this simulated hierarchy. As he rose through the ranks, I usually accompanied him as his 2IC. Although the game is a game, he tought me a lot about real, effective leadership. Today he and I both have moved on to bigger, better things, but we remain in contact.
Yesterday was about the worst flying experience I've had in a long time. First I flew from St. Louis to Minneapolis (which was 1:45 late leaving) then I left from Minneapolis to Boise, which left 1:40 late). Luckily, the Minneapolis connection was already scheduled for a 3:50 layover, so it just turned into a 2:05 layover.
So I'm sitting there in Chilis waiting for my sister who is across the terminal smoking when I suddenly think to myself... this guy sitting one table down frmo me looks just like Crazy, and the woman he's with also matches his description of his wife. I figured the odds are astronomical, given that Crazy lives on the other side of the country and that I had only seen one or two pictures of him, so I didn't say anything.
I get settled and get on MSN and decide to ask him... "Hey Crazy, were you in Minneapolis by chance last night?"
Yes.
"In the airport?"
Yes.
"Eating at Chilis?!?!"
"Yes."
Ho-ly.Shit.
