August 28th, 2008: Early in the morning of Thursday, August 28th, I checked into the California campus of California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco for my much-anticipated right hip replacement surgery. After a talk with the anesthesiologist about my preference for what type of anesthetic to use during the surgery, I was wheeled into the operating room, and, after a brief glance around at the assembled team, I went off to dreamland. In the weeks following my recovery, I would say that this day was the only time I was uncomfortable. I found it hard to adjust to a relaxing position in bed. Uncomfortable, but not in pain. I had dictated an email to my friend Gaetano and supplied a distribution list. So, on the day of my surgery, some 80 people were notified that I had been successfully operated on that morning.