11.   Tour veterans know you can never be completely comfortable around Pierce.

12.   Veterans know that the pre- Golden Globes party is a different kind of affair than the Vanity Fair post-Oscars party.

13.   Veterans know that all the great back-to-school clothes will be sold out long before the first maple reddens.

14.   Veterans know that no coach, not even Pat Riley, outlasts every player.

15.   Almost every veteran knows somebody who lost a leg, or an arm.