Sam Beaumont was born on a 20-acre ranch outside Fargo, N.D., the eldest of a family of eight. It would not take long for tragedy to strike, as his dad was killed when he gave up his bosses in a massive, underground cockfighting ring in Grand Forks.

Forced to become the man of the house at age 9, he watched his mother fall into the trappings of single life, splurging on booze and leaving the dishes unattended in the kitchen sink. The family eventually moved in with their grandparents when their mother eloped to the south of France with the guy that played Mr. Belding.

Beaumont became inspired in high school after reading Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." He applied to journalism school at North Dakota State and got his first student newspaper assignment his sophomore year covering a poetry reading.

He reported and wrote the story that night during an acid frenzy. The final copy discussed not the eloquent words spoken by English and creative writing majors, but rather the bumpy skin on the snakes in the auditorium and the precocious nature of the angels flying above the wall clock.

Beaumont did not get another assignment at the paper, but was hired by USA Tomorrow shortly after graduation. He reports from Boulder, Colo., where he lives with his two chameleons, Ted and Ned, and hamster, Dr. Martin Borkowski.