Winter Wonderland

When the snow begins to fall and makes the world a wintry white, Rick Biafora and his family want to be out in it, schussing down a slope on their skis.

"We just love being outside in the fresh air," said the Morgantown resident and real estate developer. "It's beautiful and we've met a lot of nice people. We talk to people coming up the lifts. It's just a great sport."

Where to ski also is not a question for the Biafora family, which includes Biafora's wife, Michelle, and their children, Lena, Ricky and Joseph. Rick has been going to Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Seven Springs, Pa., for 35 to 40 years, since he was a child himself.

Gold Medal Mom

A picture-perfect fall afternoon, just a few weeks before Halloween, finds Mary Lou Retton in a big hurry.

"It's almost 2 o'clock Ñ let the daily drama begin!" she laughs. "I've got car-pooling duty for my girls at three different schools. Last night was the book fair at the elementary school, and this weekend, I'm taking them to look for costumes. Life gets crazy around here sometimes."

Car pool? Book fair? Costumes? That's right. Mary Lou Retton, the world-famous, faceon- the-Wheaties-box dynamo, has gone "suburban."

Twenty-seven years after becoming an Olympic gold medalist, Retton is all grown up and unapologetically savoring the title that means the most to her: Mom. Since moving back to Fairmont a few years ago, she happily has traded the TV cameras and constant crowds for hands-on child-rearing, home cooking and yes, even car pooling.

A Coach with Heart

You flick on your television set and a familiar scene comes into focus, a football coach being carried from the field on the shoulders of his victorious players. It's not just any coach, but Don Nehlen, the College Football Hall of Fame coach from West Virginia University.

The commercial fades to Nehlen, a closeup of a hero who once brought the Mountaineers to the brink of a national championship and twice ran through undefeated seasons.

Nehlen looks into the camera and says: "You know I've been a coach. I've been a patient and now I'm a fan. What I expected when I went in for my routine checkup was that I was going to go play golf when I got done with my check-up. Then I found out, hey, you need surgery and you need it now.