I've lost seven friends to smoking-related lung cancer. Each death was a long, agonizing experience.

We were not just competitors and colleagues, we were friends. We had a lot of opportunities to reflect on this in the last year. It was a competitive brotherhood.

More and more of the veterans are in wheelchairs and with breathing apparatus, and they've lost a lot of friends in the last couple of years. I see Medal of Honor winners, and more and more of them are infirm.

The cancer is in remission, and I will shortly go on a drug maintenance regimen to keep it there.

I'm in remission. I need to get my physical conditioning to a higher level. I was always very fit. I need to get back to where I am very confident in my ability to bike a long way.

The disquieting news of Danny Villanueva's death brought back memories of our time together at KNBC in the early 1970s.