The only crystal ball even more difficult to read than where one's own personal situation may be is where the country is headed and what the country's economic situation will be in 20 or 30 years.

The only request to the schools was to utilize the money for something other than enrichment, ... We asked the schools to purchase something tangible that the school budget would not cover.

The point of the book was to give fans an inside look at what a general manager does, in terms of personal interaction, in terms of trade-making, in terms of issues that general managers deal with. In this case, I thought I had an opportunity, with literary license, to show a very human side of him. If his point is, 'OK, John, that was a private conversation and I would prefer that you keep it that way,' I understand that.

The people who came in told us such amazing stories of their personal journeys, how they got to Madison, that we just threw out the scripts. What these people are talking about in their native tongues are their own personal experiences.

The perception coming in is that you're going to be opening yourself up to personal attacks and ridicule from other councilors.