In late 1996, I received an email from a member of an e-mail group I belonged to, announcing that a new Internet company called "The Mining Company," was accepting applications to become a "Guide" for a given topic site. The criteria at that time was a passion for the subject, along with a knowledge of HTML.
I mentioned the email to Asa and said that I'd like to apply, but had no idea what topic to apply for. He looked at the list and said, "Cats! You could write about cats." I agreed. At that point, I guess you could say that although I had never thought of it as such, my relationship with cats could be called passion, and after 40-some years I had accumulated a lot of knowledge about them.
I applied, and was accepted for training. The Mining Company, of course, eventually became About.com, and is one of the most widely-visited Internet content sites, with over 500 Guides.
It has been a journey replete with milestones: sad, funny, tragic, and comic, but throughout all that, my life partner has been by my side, critiquing, editing, commenting, and encouraging. Through the high times and the low, he has remained my best friend, sometimes my harshest critic, but always my strongest supporter.
He has well-earned his unofficial title of "The Man Behind the Cats."
