It is time for all the heroes to go homeif they have any, time for all of us common onesto locate ourselves by the real thingswe live by.

They are hometown heroes. I know they are going to be excited about coming home, but it's not about us against Steve Blake and Juan Dixon. We are trying to get the win and get back to .500.

The world speaks everything to us.It is our only friend.

We are led one thing at a time to that pure gain -- all that we lose.

And all the time it's your own story, even when you think -- "It's all just made up, a trick. What is the author trying to do?" Reader, we are in such a story: all of this is trying to arrange a kind of prayer for you. Pray for me.

They tell how it was, and how timecame along, and how it happenedagain and again. They tellthe slant life takes when it turnsand slashes your face as a friend.