There are several approaches to presenting a lecture in the name of John Bonica. One possibility is to discuss the latest news from the laboratory. An alternative is to take a retrospective look at the work that is presumably being recognized by the incredible honor that comes with being asked to present this lecture. When asked to submit an abstract of my talk (months before the 10th World Congress on Pain), I had no idea what it should include and therefore did not submit one. Louisa Jones, Executive Officer of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) asked that at the minimum I submit a title that could be included in the program. Faced with that request, I decided that the lecture would indeed look back, but that it would highlight what to me has been one of the most gratifying and rewarding parts of my pain research studies, namely the opportunity to have worked with many of the real giants in the field. I titled the talk "Learning about pain from the friendly giants" because it has also been my good fortune to have worked with brilliant and genuinely warm people. Of course, some had their tough sides, as do most people who spend much of their life defending scientific ideas, but they were always supportive and had an enormous impact on my career. Without these teachers and colleagues, I would not be writing this chapter.
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