We're very close, and when he steps up for me like that, it's hard to tell him no.

I am proud of our efforts, small though they may be, when compared to the enormity of the recovery task ahead. The uniting bond we share is the simple desire to serve those so devastated by the wrath of Hurricane Katrina.

We're also working on further steps to insure that, when a beneficiary goes to a pharmacy in 2006, they'll be able to get their prescription drugs, even if the only proof they have is that they are in Medicaid and Medicare.

I hadn't taken one or two steps when the bear burst out of the brush. It charged down and then it stopped.

Their quarterback is hard to get a handle on. He can do it all. And when their tailback's healthy, they've only lost one ballgame.

It's hard to place blame on anybody when you're racing in a pack that is that close with the speeds those guys are running out there. For the most part they all do a pretty good job. All it takes is one little slip-up by somebody or by two or three people, you're going to have a heck of a crash. It's just unfortunate.