Jerry, I looked in the mirror yesterday morning, and there was a beer bellied old fart staring back at me. This morning, I went back on the South Beach Diet. I figure I have to lose about 30 pounds to get me back down to slim and trim and make my vests fit better.

I'm told by all the doctors I see that I'm really in pretty good shape, but I know better. Yeah, I can still lift the gear, sail the boat and raise those 100-pound sails up the mast, ride a bicycle 5 miles a day, but when my back went out in early March I thought the world as I know it came to an end. Damned that hurts. I went to a surgeon yesterday, he was a quack, I got the Hell out of there as fast as I could. Gonna make an appointment with a real doctor this morning. For you youngsters, that extra 10 pounds seems like nothing, and for the most part, the weight is almost insignificant. For us old farts leading a somewhat sedentary lifestyle, 10 pounds of added keyboard weight is a lot.

All the best,

Gary