Wow, 7 years. I remember like it was yesterday. I was running my first server out of the Master Bedroom of my 2 bedroom apartment. I remember the somewhat early stages of the Internet and my blues obsession, out on the net looking for lyrics to a Leadbelly song. I found them but couldn't get to them. "Sorry", it said, "Xerox just can't take the heat anymore, we have to take the lyrics down." I think Dick Greenhaus's email address was on the site, so I sent him a note. It went something like: "I'm just a kid with nothing to lose, so I'll host your lyrics." Even then, I knew content was king, and I knew the Digitrad was important. Dick then called me. I don't think I knew I was talking to the oldest man in the world, and I don't think he knew he was talking to a punk kid who just quit his job to chase this Internet thing.

A great friendship was formed that day, and I'm as happy about that 7th anniversary as any other. Dick has been a great mentor and a great friend, and he kindly introduced me to a world that we virtually recreate here. The folks at the FSGW welcomed me into their real world, and then welcomed all the nuts that later came with me. A lot of what the Mudcat turned into came from endless suggestions and comments that I got when at the Spring and Fall Getaways.

I remember even in the first couple of months of the forum how much I tried to preserve the data that began to fill the forum. I was young and uneducated in a lot of the technology that went into making the Digitrad and Forum work, so it was always by the seat of my pants. In a lot of ways, it still is, and I think that is why I stay so patient and interested in the technical side of things. I treated every post as gold, and above all thought of upgrades and the time it would take, I always did my best to never let a post disappear. I think in all 7 years, we only lost a couple of days worth once. Considering all that we went through, that is a miracle.

I ran a tech business for about 6 years, and built and hosted hundreds of sites, but none ever came close to the popularity of the Mudcat. (Except maybe gwbush.com, which I had to kick out around election time.) People came… a lot. That means this place needed to exist, and I was lucky enough to be there to supply it.

So the net sucked me in, chewed me up, and spit me out, but left me with what will always be my finest creation (on the net that is). Mudcat has given me pride, which I surely needed at times. It also has given me friends.

So thank you friends, I am surely proud to know you.