Contributors

ANDREW FERGUSON, a TIME contributor since 1996, can draw upon his experience as a presidential speechwriter when he writes about politics. But this week he draws upon his experience as a father of two--Gillum, 8, and Emily, 6--for our cover story on kids' athletics. Earlier this spring, Dad spent every Saturday driving his players to the ballpark, cheering and, when the ball machine was down, subbing his writing arm for the Iron Mike. He is no rookie, though. "In grade school I played a lot of sports," he says. "The difference is, we would just bring our friends and some equipment and play." He retired from sports in high school and switched from imitating Mickey Mantle to E.B. White, to whom he pays tribute in another article in this issue.

RICHARD WOODBURY, our Denver-based correspondent, trudged through mud fields and scrambled up rocks to report on the crowding of Colorado's highest peaks. "It's easy to follow in the footsteps of others who have created paths and broaden their trails," says Woodbury, with allusion to the growth of the West in general, which he writes about often. "Unfortunately, widening contributes to erosion and drainage problems." Though an avid jogger based in the Mile High City since 1994, Woodbury admits he was winded by the time he reached the top of Mount Bierstadt, where he spent a very windblown hour interviewing hikers at 14,060 ft. And did we mention his aversion to heights? Never mind. He said the hard part was coming down.

MOLLY IVINS may hail from the Lone Star State, but she loves the Stars and Stripes. In her syndicated column for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Ivins stands her ground against critics of popular American culture. "I'm not sure it's the greatest country, but it's certainly the most fun," says the Austin-based TIME contributor, a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, whose essay this week celebrates America's "world-class" eccentrics. She says her more than 20 years covering Texas politics qualifies her to write about American culture because "Texas is like any other place, only more so." Oddly, Ivins, who calls Janet Reno her "fashion goddess," does not see herself as eccentric: "I'm as normal as apple pie; it's other people who are strange."

NADYA LABI worked in a rural school in South Africa, teaching English and conducting the girls' choir, before joining TIME International in 1995. Now a staff writer at TIME, she tells a story this week about a music teacher in New York City who works with underprivileged children, selected by lottery, at public schools. Labi used to study violin, but says her "fingers could never quite master the vibrato." She became a journalistic prodigy instead, mastering subjects ranging from grief counseling to the Tae-Bo phenomenon. But Labi, who sang soprano in choir as an undergraduate at Harvard, has not given up on music. "The kids at the school showed such heart, it made me want to pick up the violin again," she says. "Maybe I'll work on that vibrato."

DOUGLAS WALLER, a former congressional staff member, knows the defense industry from the inside out, having reported on everything from the U.S. invasion of Panama to the plan to thwart Osama Bin Laden. To bring us this week's story on the U.S. plot to oust Slobodan Milosevic, Waller, our State Department correspondent, canvassed officials in the intelligence community and the State Department, as well as nongovernment agencies that provide aid overseas. "No one person has all the information," he says. "There is not a silver bullet of a source." His experience suggests that covering the diplomacy to end a war can be as harrowing as covering the war itself, though he concedes it is "a heck of a lot less dangerous." He does like adventure, however; for his last book, Air Warriors, he flew with Navy pilots for two years.