In the final analysis, after everything is said and done (the weirdness of the past month, my son being sick and everything that happened as a result of that), I believe it all worked out for the best. That might seem like a strange thing to say, but bear with me.
Sure we lost a few pilots, some to other corporations and alliances, but many have returned both to Lucifer's Hammer and to other corporations that are now joining our Alliance. Either that, or they still fly with us even though they are part of other groups. So we haven't really "lost" any pilots. Except for a few who are no longer even playing Eve. (Sorry to see you guys have to quit, but if anyone understands, it would be me.)
And sure we lost a few Corporations, BSA and TORAH being the two that moved on. BSA formed their own alliance and have been giving us much fun in local as a result. TORAH had left before the RL stuff happened, they didn't really fit and we both knew it. In their place however, we have some new blood. Already two new corporations have joined our ranks, with a third and possibly a fourth already on the horizon. One of the new corporations being run by a former Lucifer's Hammer Director.
All of this, the "shakeup" if you will, has been good for the system. And I am not saying that the former members or corporations were bad or fail or anything like that. What I am saying however, is that change can be good. For those of us that stuck it out, for those of us that have come back on board and for the new guys. This isn't the same Corp/Alliance it was just a month ago. I'm not the same player I was a month ago.
This was the closest I have ever come to quitting the game. A month ago I knew that playing Eve was not going to be in my future, I just wasn't sure how it would happen. Knowing that and admitting it to myself, I knew I couldn't just leave my friends and fellow pilots in the lurch, or in LUCRH. (See what I did there?) It didn't work out that way, both in RL and in-game. My son got better and my friends refused to let go.
Those kind of events change you. In significant ways I am both less interested in Eve now and more dedicated to it than ever before. That might not make a lot of sense to some of you, but I suspect there are many of you silently shaking your head right now because you know where I am coming from.
I am having a blast now. When I log on there is always something happening, or I can make something happen. Either alone or with the corp or with our friends. I don't feel the need to "do" anything and yet I want to do it all. Ahhh, that feels much, much better.
I can tell you this much, we are having fun. We have no real designs right now to ever do much more than that. We'll see how things go and take it one step at a time. But if you or your buddies want a great group of dedicated, fearless, insane pilots to fly with, then think about joining Lucifer's Hammer or bring the whole bunch over and hitch your wagon to our Alliance. Not "my" alliance, not "my" Corporation... but ours.
I like the sound of that. Now, watch out cause we are undocking. And God knows what might happen next.