It was 1973. "Look at this!" I said, showing my bride a picture in a magazine. "What IS it?" she asked. "It's an elemental flying machine," I replied. "I'm going to buy one." (And here I quote the BBC's famous Goons: "Are you mad?" / "I have a certificate." / "But it will mean certain death!" / "…it is, um, a Death Certificate.") …and yet! Here I am, many adventures later, still alive and writing.