1 I was shocked there were a few youngsters that didn't know what this picture depicted. (For the record, I was ten when Saigon fell.) Then I felt really, really old. I had to lie down for a few minutes. Heh.

2 I was 13. I'm 42 now, and my forties seem to be a sort of second adolescence for me: my body is slowly changing. But my mind is becoming an ever-more-wicked weapon. So there's a trade-off, and I'd like this even if it weren't just a matter of "getting older beats the alternative." Of course, they tell me I look 30-35, so that helps me not to take it too hard. It's that "little elfin face" thing: my father tells me he looked 11 years old till he hit 60. Not that my dad ever exaggerates.