Mr. SIDNEY TORRES (Hotel Owner): First off, I asked how they were and how their family was, and they in return asked the same, and--'cause we're friends.

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When I asked why, the question was brushed off.

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To get off the beaten path, I asked five billionaires about trends they were seeing in their specific industries.

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Alexandre Tombini, the affable central banker from Brazil, tried to brush off long-term concerns when I asked if the president's economic team was behind the curve when it repeatedly slashed interest rates to combat a slow-down.

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At one point in our conversations, since he is as articulate and often surprising off the piano as on, I asked Mr. Alterman to describe his inner musical odyssey from boyhood in Atlanta to growing recognition in New York and by the jazz community.

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Two years ago, from this podium, I asked five companies to lead a national effort to hire people off welfare.

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Setting off with empty stomachs, my boyfriend and I asked the front desk at our hotel for directions, but the clerk raised her eyebrows in alarm.

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Once I saw fireworks go off in Mexico City, before sunset, and asked a local why.

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And I'd spoken to her about it, asked her nicely to knock it off.

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After I drained a snaking 40-footer from just off the green, the Hall of Fame running back asked if he could hit a few putts with the blunt instrument.

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