Pushing my poetry on people and having them actually listen, the Lane Lords (and our virtual battle for A+W turf with the Gaylords, who didn't understand they were fighting a parody), publishing “The Oppressor,” swimming naked.

Creating a new public radio show on transportation. Playing with the grandtwins, Noah and Ida, which is a big reason why I spend a week per month in Boston these days.

Doing an NPR commentary about swimming naked at Lane (does it get better than that?), producing TV and radio documentaries, meeting and chronicling Civil Rights Movement pioneers, editing a daily newspaper, appearing on network news shows and following my mother’s wishes by burying her in a pet cemetery and writing a column about it that ran front-page in the Sun-Times (it doesn’t get better than that.)