The Cabin

Dear Shell,

The cars straggled in one by one, pulling up to the side of the 3 story cabin. Road-weary bodies tumbled out of the cars, stretching sore muscles and staring in disdain at the torture devices they had been trapped in for hours. They gazed up at the wood-sided Tennessee cabin where they would rest their tired bodies for the next four days. Grabbing their bags and various other items, they struggled up the stairs to the main entrance of the building.

Opening the front door, they stared at the huge open room before them. To the left was a long dining room table that could seat 10 of them, with another smaller table nearby for another 4 people. To the right of the door, in front of the tall windows, was a small living area with two soft couches and a fireplace. The back of the main room held a kitchen with counters that made the women dream of everything they could create upon them.

Two bedrooms were off the sides of the main room, with king sized beds and jacuzzi bathrooms. Stairs leading upstairs took the visitors to three more bedrooms, one of which was open to look down upon the main room below. Another set of stairs led them downstairs, to a couple more bedrooms and a large game room complete with pool table and air hockey table, plus a couple arcade machines.

The first day was mostly spent figuring out who would sleep where, what food still needed to be purchased, and setting up the various laptops that had been brought, because this crew, a crew of people who are called 'Gamers', could not travel anywhere without their electronics. Late that night, they gathered together on the the covered upper deck to exchange stories and tales of adventures they have had together within their online gaming community. They teased each other about things that had happened the previous year when they had gathered in Orlando, Florida.

This crew of people, these gamers, these individuals from all over the United States, came together within their online game to accomplish various quests and objectives. This teamwork led to in-game friendship, then has since led to a friendship that has extended beyond the boundaries of the game. We are no longer just gamers. We are friends, we are family.

Shell