On May 8, 2001, Roadside’s "Proud Papa" dismissed me as editor of Roadside, a magazine I founded in 1990 with $3,000 in the bank, and a plan to repopularize the great American Diner by introducing people to the hearty culture and fine food still found in these great roadside gems.

The magazine never made any real money, but it did make for a wonderful lifestyle, and I had vowed that as long as I had fun, I would try to continue publishing. But in 1998, finding myself tired, in debt, and troubled by the fact that the business had hit a wall, I decided to seek help.

In walked Mr. George Ball Jr., sparking a succession of events that that couldn't possibly sell as fiction.

That story begins here...