By Tom Shroder
Sunday, December 30, 2007

Like so many people, I first met Dave Barry in the restroom.

No, it wasn't a "wide stance" situation. It was exactly what made Dave Barry a household name: bathroom reading.

I was working at a Midwestern newspaper, a place where I never really fit in. One day, grabbing the features section to read during a "go" break, I came across a new columnist. I didn't expect much ¿ it wasn't a very good paper, and humor is particularly tough to carry off ¿ but, a few sentences in, the words started to mutate, and, the next thing I knew, I was laughing so hard I could barely stay on the seat. God knows what the guy in the next stall thought.

But I know what I thought ¿ a variation on what millions have thought when first encountering a Barry column: "Finally, there's someone in this stinking place I could be friends with!"

I gathered myself together and, literally, ran to the features section. "Where does Dave Barry sit?" I asked.

"Oh," the receptionist said, "that's a syndicated column. He's in Miami."

Well, duh! Part of me had known it had been too much to expect.

But what I definitely didn't expect was that, within six months, I would not only be in Miami myself but eventually would become Dave's editor there (if you call laughing and then pushing the "publish" button editing).

When Dave retired from his weekly column three years ago, I was especially glad that he continued each holiday season to write his Gift Guide and Year in Review, which begins on Page 8. But this year, there's another special package about to arrive: Dave himself.

As I write this, Dave is on his way to Washington, where he'll spend a couple of days wandering downtown with Gene Weingarten and me. We'll be the ones who look like a clueless, middle-aged street gang. Actually, we'll be trying to cook up a weird kind of fun for all of you. It's called The Post Hunt, based on an event that Gene, Dave and I came up with when we were in Miami together (scary, isn't it?).

Basically, the Hunt is a kind of urban safari, where what you're hunting for are the answers to warped brain-teasers. The puzzles ¿ they tend to have the weird logic of Dave's punch lines and a heaping helping of Gene's bad attitude ¿ will be woven into the streetscape downtown. Save Sunday, May 18. We'll invite everyone to come down and spend a few hours trying to outsmart us and win some fabulous prizes. Look to this space for more info as we get closer, but basically all you'll need is a copy of that day's Magazine, an ability to laugh and a willingness to fry off a few thousand spare brain cells.

Take it from Dave, Gene and me: You'll barely miss 'em.

Tom Shroder can be reached at shrodert@washpost.com.