My own list of wonderful things 'Catters have done would take more space and more time to write out than you might ever imagine. Many times each week there are lovely exchanges that take place behind the scenes. Sometimes it comes in the form of a simple email filled with good wishes or words of encouragement; sometimes it is an unexpected package in the mail; or perhaps a phone call from someone far away and sometimes other surprises and encounters that defy description. They happen all the time nowadays. I know because I have been on the receiving end of many such things. Many of us have come to know one another rather well by way of the Mudcat. It wasn't always this way.

Not long ago, there were no such little wonders. There were no Mudcat gatherings; there were no Secret Santas, etc.. We were little more than names on the screen - people who shared a love for the same kind of music; but for the most part, people who had never met and had no connection other than the posts on the forum. Clearly, this has changed.

Three years ago, come June, Bill Sables and I were more than two thousand miles from the point of embarkation on our Mudcat Adventure. (Actually, for Bill, it was more than twice that!) During our travels we met and enjoyed the company of lots of 'Catters and their friends & families. At many stops along our ten thousand mile route we were invited to some of the most wonderful hospitality anyone could ever hope to encounter. We ate like kings and were not only treated to some of the best music in all the world, but also where time allowed (and even sometimes when it didn't!) we were given personal tours of the locales we visited.

I think on that Adventure more often than you might imagine and will be forever indebted to the wonderful friendliness and generosity of the Mudcatters whom we encountered along the way.

It should be pointed out that had it not been for the lovely Annap (now Annamill) and her bravery (for indeed it was such) and incredible hospitality, I don't know if I might ever have met Bill Sables. Anna, as some of you will still remember, held the first open-invitation Mudcat gathering at her home at the New Jersey shore in the summer of 1999. In fact, in order to accommodate folks who weren't able to attend the first one, she held a second one a month later! But it was at the first one that I met Bill and a great friendship was cemented immediately.

Not long after Anna's gathering, the idea of the Adventure began to germinate. Nothing could have pleased me more when it evolved that Bill was to be a part of it. When I think of how much Bill put into making it a success and how grateful I am to him, well, it goes beyond words.

In May of this year the connection between Bill and me will be added to in yet another way. I will be traveling to England and will be attending the Yorkshire gathering while staying at the home of Bill and his lovely Lorna. I can hardly wait!

Although it has always been in my thoughts to someday visit England, the associations I have made by way of the Mudcat are becoming a major factor in making such a visit a far more pleasant reality than I might ever have dreamed! I eagerly await the opportunity to put faces with names and to again meet some of the UK 'Catters whom I have already had the pleasure of meeting on this side of the pond.

My list of "Wonderful Things 'Catters Do For 'Catters" continues to grow. It is all far beyond amazing!!!