And in fact the only way I can deal with this eerie situation at all is to make a conscious decision that I have already lived and finished the life I planned to live - and everything from now on will be A New Life, a different thing, a gig that ends tonight and starts tomorrow morning.

My greatest talent is in my ability to choose good friends. It's about as important as things get.

I felt like a monster reincarnation of Horatio Alger: A man on the move, and just sick enough to be totally confident.

The first impression is always the right one. I rarely change my mind upward about people.

I had a soft-spot in my heart for Ronald Reagan, if only because he was a sportswriter in his youth.

I never knew where I was going, but I ripped the tits off of everything that got in my way. By the time they figured me out, it was too late.

But our trip was different. It was a classic affirmation of everything right and true and decent in the national character. It was a gross, physical salute to the fantastic possibilities of life in this country-but only for those with true grit. And we were chock full of that.