Geocities and a Gatlinburg graveyard

Thoughts on our (virtual) past lives

My family has been coming to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, once a year in the fall for several years. It is a nice drive from Cincinnati, Ohio, with the leaves turning to their autumn colors. My favorite thing to do is to walk down the Gatlinburg main tourist strip.

Pictures of our visit to downtown Gatlinburg on 10/22/24.

One year we attended a ghost tour in Gatlinburg, and I was surprised to find that there is a historic cemetery named White Oak Flats right behind the busy street. Most visitors to this tourist destination would not necessarily think to stop by the cemetery, but it exists right behind the bustling fun.

Our visit to White Oak Flats cemetery 10/22/24.

Seeing this historic cemetery in the midst of the modern tourist area made me think about how memories of former periods of our lives can exist alongside the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives. We often think of in person memories, but have you ever thought about the memories of your virtual presence?

My virtual past lives

My childhood happened during the early days of the internet, and I was lucky to have a father who was pretty into it. He was able to get me connected to some entertaining sites in the early days. One of these sites was Geocities. I remember colorful pages and chat rooms and connecting with strangers, who I would somehow convince myself were actually my friends from school. 

At some point in these early years, I became hooked on a website that hosted trivia games in chat rooms that had moderators. I am not totally sure what website this was, but I believe it might have been connected to Yahooligans, the Yahoo website for kids. I remember the moderators being encouraging, and I looked forward to these games each week. Sometimes my mom would order a pizza on these evenings, and that would make it even more enjoyable. 

Later, in my early preteen and teenage years, the internet sensation moved to channels like AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo chat rooms. There was a lot of discussion at that time between myself and my best friend Courtney about boy bands, her favorite being NSYNC and mine being Backstreet Boys. Courtney had a special affection for JC Chasez of NSYNC and at one point even made an email with his name in it. I had a screen name I liked to go by, Milly.

A picture of myself and Courtney at our grade school graduation.

At one point, I was also obsessed with the band with the long golden locks, Hanson, and I would dream that somehow I would run into one of these celebrities in these chat rooms with no concrete proof as to where this wishful thinking originated from. I would spend hours on these forums throughout the week entertaining these never realized speculations. Ultimately, the memories made with my friends were the true destiny. 

What are some memories you have from your digital past? 

I’m dedicating this post to a man whose grave I came across at White Flats Cemetery named Private Beecher B. Ogle. He was killed during his service in World War II in France on December 7, 1944. I took a moment at the cemetery to give him my thanks for his sacrifice.

After our visit to White Flats Cemetery, while we were walking around downtown Gatlinburg, we came across an elderly man wearing a hat designating his service in Vietnam. He had a small dog on a basket on his walker. I told him his dog was adorable, and he said thank you and explained that his dog helps him with the demons he still deals with from his time in Vietnam. I also gave this man my thanks for his service.

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