Everyone from Pullman porters to hostesses at swank New York parties will tell me they always watch 'Miss Brooks' on Friday night.

My recipe for bliss on a Friday night consists of a 'New York Times' crossword puzzle and a new episode of 'Homicide;' Saturdays and Sundays are oriented around walks in the woods with the dog, human companion in tow some of the time but not always.

I love tuning into Radio 1 on a Friday night after training and hearing the new stuff.

I've worked too long and too hard to play in some little joint for $65 a night, ... In New York, jazz fans support you. In Atlanta, unless you're booked in a club where folks can drive up to the front door, you're out of luck. If people have to look for parking, forget it.

People with brains went to New York, and people with faces came West.

'Until Friday Night' is the first book in my new young adult series, 'The Field Party.'