The Gathering, a meeting of Christians from various local churches, drew more than 800 people on Sunday to the ballroom at the Meritage Resort in Napa. Pastors from non-denominational, Pentecostal and Evangelical churches attended.

Don't get Jim Leyva wrong. He's a happily married man, has been for 57 years.

Recently, a baseball story I'd written on the greatest players I'd ever seen elicited a raft of e-mails and phone calls from strangers, most of whom became instant friends.

Last week, quite naturally my thoughts returned to Sept. 11, 2001, and the heroism displayed by both the FDNY and my NYPD in our darkest hours. But in my 33 years as a New York cop, every once in a while there was a lighter moment and this story is about one of those times.

The first time I saw the condition of creeks running with more water during August, I thought a major sprinkling was taking place and the runoff was hitting the creek in front of my house. We did not have any rain, but the creek still contained more water. Actually, this phenomenon occurs in many of our local creeks at this time of year because creekside trees begin to need less water. As the dogwoods, oaks and other trees begin losing their leaves, they also stop soaking up water in mid-August in preparation for fall and winter.

I am reminded that I have never had a bad day fishing. Sometimes the catching is a little slow, but meeting with friends is always fun. Last week a group of us joined Ray Sercu for a great day on the Napa River. Ray's beautiful Rajen Sue boat became home for us for the day. Wow, it was a fun day. We had delicious food and local refreshment. Since we were seasoned Napans, we had plenty of stories to tell among the six of us. Ray's guest list included Ken Narlow, John Ross, Gene King, and the kid ... 88-year-old Herb Colton. Herb has been on many of these trips before, and when he is not fishing, he plays tennis and walks every day. Actually, the average age of our group was 74, and there wasn't an old person on board. The weather was great, but plenty of kelp-type seaweed kept pulling our bait off and loading our lines with weight. We did not care; it was a day we will all add to great memories.

Ever wonder about some of the descriptors used in wine critics' reviews?

Global warming

Looking for 600 bottles of Bordeaux?

You can't get

The pinnacle of my laundry career was when I was in the Army. Although not a particularly great soldier, I had the laundry skills of a professional.

The success of the California wine industry can be traced to "our unique and varied bouquet of cultures," maintains California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Wines that love

By L. PIERCE CARSON

Dear Len and Rosie,

Copia is continues its celebration of Italy this weekend with the Italian Garden Saturday and an Italian street festival Sunday.