Tribute to a friend...

 

     This is a photo I took in early February 2019, when I was decorating for my annual Super-Bowl party.  Two years prior in 2017, I had a group of friends over to the same location for the big game between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons. Pst, Vanilla Dutch, Lauren J, a few other friends and I watched a thrilling game -- Atlanta raced to a 28 to 3 lead in the first half, and the game appeared to be over. As a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, I was thrilled to see Tom Brady and company getting crushed in the biggest game of the year.

     As many of you know, Brady directed an incredible comeback in the second half. The game eventually went to overtime, with the Patriots winning. It was a surreal experience taking it all in and was further exacerbated by some bone-headed decisions courtesy of Atlanta's coaching staff. Nevertheless, we all had a great time hanging out and enjoying the game.

     My friend Lauren visited there.com only a few times, but I think the Super-Bowl party was one of her best experiences here. Afterwards, she informed us that she had placed a $500 bet on the Patriots with her local bookie and won a couple thousand in return. That was easily the second-biggest surprise of the night.

     In the late spring of 2018, Lauren discovered she had a terminal illness after a hospital visit. She continued to visit our online chatroom, however, to discuss true-crime topics and whatever else came to mind. We all admired her toughness and determination to carry on like nothing had changed. I eventually asked her about entering hospice care, but Lauren said it was not for her.

 After Lauren passed away later that summer, I wrote a tribute to her on our true-crime forum...

     Lauren and I became acquainted several years ago in a true-crime chatroom and quickly became fast friends. She was smart, funny, and loved to discuss all manner of topics. Having grown up in Los Angeles, Lauren shared stories about hanging out on the set of Facts of Life as well as attending tapings of American Bandstand. We enjoyed listening to all her stories, anecdotes, and gossip from that time period. She also earned a degree from Stanford and had a hand in creating Microsoft’s WebTV in the 1990s.

     Lauren also enjoyed sports and attended the 1984 Olympic Games—one of her highlights was getting Michael Jordan’s autograph after a game.

     In 2015, I introduced her to fantasy football and discovered how incredibly competitive she was. Lauren would join five to seven leagues every season and won several first-place trophies. She clearly enjoyed crushing the competition, and one of her team names was “Beat by a Girl.” I suggested a nickname for her—“the Queen of Schadenfreude”—but she always denied this was true, often laughingly so.

     Lauren was also very generous. After the first episode of a Tom Voigt true-crime podcast, she announced in chat that Tom needed a new microphone and proceeded to send him funds for one. A few years ago, I mentioned in chat how I had purchased an online archive subscription to do some newspaper research, and Lauren promptly reimbursed me for it. I have no doubt she was one of Tom’s most consistent and generous contributors over the years.

     As David noted, Lauren was also a very creative investigator. She got the ball rolling on the passport investigation of a certain Zodiac Killer suspect that led to new information being developed by online sleuth AK Wilks. Lauren was also able to tell us things about the masked IP address of a suspicious individual who once frequented zodiackiller.com’s forums from 2000 to 2001. Although not everyone agrees on this particular suspect, I think we can all agree Lauren was a determined and tenacious sleuth.

     Lauren discovered she was sick in April 2019, but she continued to visit our chatroom almost until the time she passed. Her toughness and spirit during this time cannot be underestimated. She loved the RV lifestyle, and not even a serious illness could change her ways. Lauren was a great researcher and contributor to our forums—but most importantly, she was a wonderful friend.

by matthewkg