The Minister of Chaos already was at the bottom of the hill, blood soaking into his sock. Time didn't matter. It was the end of the day. It was the day's final ride, from 11,000 feet to 9,000 feet (Lodge level), then back to our pad at the Summit Condos, at about 7,100 feet.

Didn't make it.

Later, Corey Hitchcock drew this for me as a get-well card.

Somewhere, there is a lesson in this.

I started newspapering at a little farmtown paper in Northwest Iowa, called the Cherokee Daily Times. Its circulation reached all the way to Marcus and Aurelia.

From there I went to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, and pinballed over to the Des Moines Register and Tribune.

Somehow, I ended up working for the Philadelphia Inquirer after that, switching from the news side to the sports side along the way; I accidentally fell into the NBA job and covered Dr. J and the 76ers from 1980-81 to February of 1985, and then came West.

I covered baseball for the San Jose Merc and for the Chronicle (Giants and the N.L.) which brings us up to date, except for the City College of San Francisco thing. I teach a class there, called Internet Journalism.

My wife, Jean Catino, was the catalyst for me getting online by becoming "bean"at The Well in 1993. One thing led to another. In any case, that's why she is "The Orignal Bean" around here.

As of now, she's accepted a gig with Cal Performances after a year with the San Francisco Symphony, and she was quite a sight on Opening Night, '97.

Finally, there is the dog.
Almost forgot.