Almost two weeks have passed since well-known TV personality Jerry McKinnis had what he hopes was his first and last heart attack on Oct. 20. The prognosis: so far, so good.

When it happened, he was playing racquetball. "It was a shocker to me," he said. "I have no history of it, my cholesterol is good, I'm in good shape, I don't drink, I don't smoke -- I'm the poster boy for not having a heart attack. But I did.

"I had never, ever had any warning that this was coming," said the 65-year-old McKinnis. "I thought I was invincible. I'm serious about the way I play racquetball. In my age division I'm probably the best in the world. I play really seriously, so it was just such a shock that that could happen. But it did, and it was kind of a nasty 24 hours."

He said he "had a lot of blockage. They put stents in there and cleaned it all up."

Doing Fine, But Careful?

Now he's "doing fine. In fact, I just came in this evening from all these stress tests and stuff and everything's fine. I just have to be careful and work my way back in."

"Careful" is relative: McKinnis missed only one day of work at his company, JM Associates (Little Rock, Ark.), which produces the Bassmaster TV shows and handles much of the production work for ESPN2's outdoors block. BassFans wouldn't know it from his easy-going TV manner, but McKinnis is an intense worker known for putting in long hours.

"It was kind of a wild deal, but it worked out fine," he said of his experience. "I didn't get a clean bill of health today, but I got the news that everything (physiologically) is the way it's supposed to be.

"It's a mental blow to you as much as it is physical," he added. "We're all different, and my make-up is to just get after it. When something happens to you where you might not be able to do that anymore is scary. I am going to be a lot more careful."

At Least 10 More Years

"I told the doctor today that I will not let this stuff make me get old," McKinnis said. "I'll get old whenever I want to. The thing that keeps me young is the people around me. I really don't bum around with anyone my own age.

"My goal is to do The Fishin' Hole for 50 years, and that's 10 more years. So I have to hang in there for that long."

Support Has Helped

Naturally McKinnis hasn't been recovering alone. In addition to his family, he said he's been "just shocked at all the people who have called from all over the country. It really was very gratifying that so many people care. Boy, do I appreciate that."