Sid and his close personal friends

Minnesotans should check out this engrossing profile of 89-year-old Star Trib sportswriter Sid Hartman.

When he's gone, an era of journalism will truly disappear. You couldn't have a career and do the things Sid did any more, for better or for worse. Fascinating piece, though.

I used to work on the same floor of the Strib as Sid, and the vending machine was right next to his office. Someone told me a (possibly apocryphal) story about a little kid visiting the newspaper and the vending machine getting stuck. The kid's dad encouraged him or her to give it a few kicks or bangs to try and get their treat to drop, and Sid supposedly came barrelling around the corner shrieking at whoever was manhandling the machine, not knowing it was a visiting tot. Oops.