This picture was taken in 2002, when I was a very busy and very successful internet entrepreneur, business and IT consultant, and network engineer. I had my own internet company, 15 employees, offers coming in constantly. Even better, I also had a wife, a cute little 18 month old baby, and a beautiful big home in Dallas with a shaded pool and hot tub overlooked by a home gym. Those were great days for me and everyone around me. Cyberstation’s best month ever was August 2002. The next year, it was all gone. The dotcom crash was 2000-2002, but the telecom and independent internet and hosting provider business crashed in 2003. Our biggest business partner, IP Communications, suddenly folded in 2003. (This was 100% due to the purposeful sabotage and malfeasance of Southwestern Bell, the incumbent baby Bell. I could tell horror stories of the crap they pulled on DLEC’S!) We used IP Communications to connect to tens of thousands of our accounts across 5 states, plus I had a $50/hr, 40hr/week min. side contract with them. I was paid this retainer whether I worked or not, to be available for any internet networking or services problems or development they needed, and to lock me out of helping any of their competitors. Money was just rolling in, we had a new (to us) house, new cars, new appliances, new baby hahaha and good times. But all things come to and end, don’t they?

I was no spring chicken here, but I do look quite a bit older at times now, Fall of 2018. Mean ol’ Father Time takes his unrelenting toll on us all!!

Brings back good memories, even so!