Arthur Fermi passed the following to me tonight and I told him I would post it for him here at our new forum:
Thank You Fermi!
Fermi Sandbox has been around over 4 years now; it has been an amazing experience from the moment it started. Fermi Sandbox started as a small parcel on the mainland sim of Hek, it was1536m, you could hear everyone chat if you stood in the middle. It was a shabby little lot in the shape of a T, it was wedged between big buildings, and it was perfect! It was a place where I would be able to build, I talked to Kai and she agreed that it was the right place. The land was purchased, it needed a name so I called it Fermi Sandbox, it was a place to build small things, furniture, jewelry, it was never going to be big, it was just my place to build and share with others. Time moved on, as it normally does, and it grew until one day a very kind man by the name of Steffen Menjou donated his sim to Fermi Sandbox. Toady Fermi Sandbox seems huge; it is on a private estate, has about 150 shops and about 50 volunteers and traffic that rival most clubs.
I thought long and hard about the decision to merge with Little Blue, and in the end it was best for me, and Fermi Sandbox. I do not know the complete history of Little Blue, but I do know that Fermi Sandbox was the inspiration. They have told me many times how honored they are that I even considered them. Over time Fermi Sandbox will change to be more like Little Blue, and Little Blue will become a bit more like Fermi. Fermi Sandbox will continue on under the control of Gillian Carthage, who is not only brilliant, but an exceptional person who loves Fermi Sandbox as much as I do. Fermi Sandbox is in the excellent hands of Gillian who will bring you in, feed you (not sure about that) and treat you as her own (sure about this). I am forever grateful that she agreed to take over Fermi Sandbox and continue its history.
Thank You
To everyone, who has visited Fermi Sandbox, once or many times. Some of you I know, most of you I do not, you come from all corners of the earth, speak many different languages, have different cultures in RL and SL. You bring all of these things to Fermi Sandbox giving it richness and a feeling that can only be found in the major cities of earth. Each one of you left behind some character (some left behind a lot of prims as well), you added that to what Fermi Sandbox was and is. Thank you for sharing your fun, joy, laughter, happiness, silliness and all around good times you brought with you. Without all of you, Fermi Sandbox would have just been another place.
To everyone who has worked at Fermi Sandbox as managers, teachers, volunteers, DJs, and every other role. Your contribution has been exceptional and far greater than you can possible imagine. Without the time and effort you put in, we would have just been another sandbox shooting range, a place filled with prims, griefers and random stupidity (not that we didn’t have our fair share of all of that). Thank you for your time, effort, dedication, and most importantly for being my friends.
I could not have asked or wished for anything more or better than Fermi Sandbox. The experience of owning and running Fermi Sandbox has far exceeded anything I could have imagined in Second Life and in many cases real life. From a personal point of view it has been a learning experience and has been deeply rewarding experience, and worth every minute of time. I am not sure what my future holds other than I will be assisting Gillian and her staff in whatever capacity needed to complete the merger. I know I will be in SL, there are too many friends here to leave, but to quote Lao Tzu “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving”, and I think that sums up my future in SL.
A final thank you everyone who has ever worked, helped, visited, and supported Fermi Sandbox. There are a number of people who should be recognized individually here, but I think that I will do that in person.
Thank you all very much for everything!
Arthur Fermi