Steve and Zoa first met in PDE's #StarFleetLounge back in March of 1999. Steve would come through the Star Trek site (he didn't have a chat proggy at the time) and MOOF quite frequently (argggggggh!). It became a joke between them that Zoa would "tie" him to his "chair" to help cut down on his MOOFing and reward him with chocolate "bunnies" (not cheesecake, lol) when he would come back. ("hmmm...where did the ears go?") They seemed to sense there was something special between them, but because of Zoa's involvement with another man, things were kept on a "friends only" level. Then one night, after a couple of weeks of chatting together, Steve stopped showing up in the Lounge. Night after night, Zoa would look for him but it seemed that he just disappeared from the chat scene. Many times throughout that summer, she would wonder whatever happened to her nice meteorologist friend from Chicago. He would tell her later, "Ummm, Zoa, I never really left". As it turned out, he got himself a chat proggy and continued to visit the Star Fleet Lounge and Academy, and ET Lounge every night, but under a different name. Unbeknownst to Zoa, there had been a misunderstanding of sorts in SF Lounge one night and to avoid further conflict or embarrassment, Steve changed his nick without telling anyone. Does anyone remember "Advection"? Yes, quiet chat regular "Advection" was Steve! He spent the summer anonymously chatting, and occasionally speaking to Zoa while "in disguise". Gradually, he had a growing desire to have longer conversations with Zoa again...but still under the name "Advection". Then in late summer, Zoa's romance with the other man came to an end, and on September 28th, 1999, Steve/Advection saw his chance, and seized a quiet moment in the Academy to start a conversation with Zoa, which led that night to the unmasking of "Advection" and a joyful reunion of friends...and friendship was followed later by LOVE! There has been JOY shared between them ever since! The first phone call between them came in early November of 1999...and the first wonderful visit was in mid-April, 2000.


In the past year together, Steve and Zoa have been through good times and bad, always holding on to the special bond that continues to grow between them. Inspired by Steve's wonderful, unconditional friendship and love, Zoa wrote the song, *"Silver Linings", which begins with these words:


"When I need someone,
You're always there for me,
You hold my hand, you understand,
You give your love so free."


Although Steve lives in the mid-west and Zoa on the west coast (U.S.A.), they have met several times in real life, and hope to continue to seize many more moments of JOY together in the future.


Message to Steve from Zoa: "ILY4E!"

Message to Zoa from Steve: "I am yours, and yours only...ILY4E!"


To see pics of some of Zoa's artwork you can click HERE (It rules btw)

(written by Steve & Zoa)