By HOLLY HUFFMAN

holly.huffman@theeagle.com

Life is like a nine-mile walk. Legendary comedian Bill Cosby makes this analogy while discussing the trauma of turning 30, words tumbling out of his mouth in a style that only can be described as pure stream of consciousness.

For the first three miles, you simply wander around, laughing and giggling and maybe even stopping for a nap in the neighboring forest. But one day you look up and see that you still have six more miles to go. All the sudden, he said, you see how little you have accomplished and realize there is a lot of catching up to do.

This type of wisdom is what to expect from Cosby when he makes a return visit to College Station on Friday for Texas A&M University's First Yell 2008. And you'll laugh, damnit.

"I'm funny, I'm telling you," Cosby said in a half-serious tone when asked during a recent phone interview how he peppers his comedy act with his astute observations. "I'll slap you in the mouth."

Storytelling

First Yell was launched in 1999 to serve as kick off for Aggie football, said Rusty Thompson, associate director of the department of student activities. Originally paired with Aggie Bonfire -- which ended in 1999 after 11 students and one former student died as it was being built --the two events were designed to serve as bookends for football season.

The show always features student groups and a comedian, including Cosby, Martin Short, Wayne Brady and Jeff Foxworthy.

"It's kind of a welcome event for the school year," Thompson said, explaining that the Singing Cadets, Aggie Wranglers, Percussion Studio and Fade to Black also will perform. "We're mixing all that together for a good Aggie night. Then you go to Yell Practice and the game and have a good weekend."

This year marks the third time for Cosby to be the featured performer at First Yell. And it's no wonder. What isn't this author-actor-comedian known for? Jello Pudding Pops. Stand-up routines. Picture Pages. The Cosby Show. Ghost Dad. (Come on, who can turn down Cosby as a funny but lovable father of three who hangs around after his untimely death to watch over his now-orphaned daughters?)

Cosby's career has spanned more than four decades. And at 71, the comedy icon acknowledges that some may wonder why he still plays college campuses.

"At age 71, I can drift off into things that will really put you to sleep if your oldest age is 40-something," Cosby says with trademark dry delivery. "One would figure at 71 years old, the man is not today's comedy club stand-up."

Unlike his current counterparts, Cosby never uses profanity to garner a laugh. He doesn't link himself to the "hip" crowd.

But that doesn't matter. Some jokes play no matter your age, he says, pointing as an example to the trauma of turning 30.

"Whether you're 71 or whether you're 52, 42, 32, 22, 12 -- it's storytelling," said Cosby, who granted the phone interview while still in New York. "We have that in us no matter how hip we are. It's still storytelling."

'Are you the fool?'

When Cosby takes the stage Friday night, he plans to truly entertain his audience all the while remaining respectful and without getting in their faces with stories of how things were back in his day. He instead plans to use two primary concepts that can be seen in every single generation dating back to the beginnings of human kind.

Two things remain constant, he says flatly. First, no matter the era, older people always will complain about the music listened to by the younger generation. And second, he says, adults always will sit around and wonder: What are these children coming to?

And then without pause he seems to turn serious.

"Right on down to today, all these books we have by psychiatrists, and here you turn around and people still can't figure out how to tell their children how to have protected sex, if sex at all," he said. "No. 2, how to stay away from dangerous habit-forming, addicting drugs that will knock you right off the track."

Many parents fail to do the right thing in a misguided attempt to be loved by their children, explained Cosby, who recently authored Come on People: On the Path from Victims to Victors, a book that takes a hard look at the current state of the black community.

Students can refine their intellect at college, but the institution doesn't teach them about the emotional aspects of life -- romance, love, affection and dealing with other people. He pointed to what he described as an old black saying: "You send a fool to college, you'll get a fool back."

"You've got that nine-mile run and here you are in college. What are you going to do with it? What do you think? What's guiding you? Are you the fool who when you graduate will go home a fool?" Cosby questioned. "Or will you be able to get that knowledge?"

A taste of Cosby

When asked about making his third trip to Aggieland, Cosby quickly and proudly exclaims: "I've got some A&M socks."

But much like the first 10 minutes of the interview, the subject matter seems to snake back and forth. Quickly, the conversation moves back to the base for Cosby's material -- generalizations about family life.

When you reach your seventh decade, he explains, you begin to consider how much time you have left on Earth. Already, several of Cosby's fellow comics -- George Carlin, Bernie Mac -- have started to disappear. But even as you look at your life and what is left of it, life seems to take on a sense of calm.

Parents spotting a child misbehaving might become irate, he says. But a grandparent often takes things in stride, realizing that whatever happened is not the end of the world. Grandparents, instead, can ease up to you and simply remind you that whatever it is that you're doing probably isn't a good idea.

Fifteen minutes now have passed and Cosby is wrapping up his thoughts. He has paused just once, maybe twice, allowing for just one question to be slipped into the conversation: What do you like about playing A&M? He never answered.

"So, you just got a taste of Cosby," he said smoothly, his tone, though upbeat, signaling there will be no more questions. "You asked a question and he went and veered off. That's the way I work. See you later."

Click.

First Yell 2008

Bill Cosby along with the Singing Cadets, Aggie Wranglers, Percussion Studio and Fade to Black

8 p.m. Friday, Reed Arena

The show is almost sold out, but 350 additional tickets will be released at 10 a.m. Friday. Tickets can be purchased through the 12th Man Foundation Box Office or the Reed Arena or Kyle Field box offices. Call 845-2311 or go to www.12thmanfoundation.com.

PROFILE

William Henry Cosby Jr.

Birthdate: July 12, 1937

Hometown: Philadelphia, Penn.

Career Highlights:

First appearance on The Tonight Show, 1963

I Spy, 1965-1968

The Bill Cosby Show, 1969-1971

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, 1972-1984

The Cosby Show, 1984-1992

Awarded the Spingarn Medal by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1985, received Kennedy Center Honors in 1998 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.