208.8

Not bad! I only gained a half pound. I shall return to a being a good boy and following the South Beach specs. It looks like it's going to be a nice day so I'll schedule a nice walk at lunch time.

I should also point out that things seem to be okay with the heart. I no longer feel the flutters and the exercise is definitely showing results. My stamina is improving. I look forward to seeing how I'll do on our up coming ski day.

I need to mention the death of a friend. Jill Gotzian died on March First and I attended her funeral on Tuesday. She was a couple years younger than me and friends with my sisters growing up. Her sister Debbie was in my class.

The Gotzian Family has an M.S. gene running through their blood. Out of six kids, the oldest sibling Jim has it and Jill had it too. They are both confined to wheel chairs.

They don't know exactly what happened to Jill. Her brother Hap woke her up that morning and when his wife returned to help get her dressed, she was out on the floor. 911 was called and they revived her but she had been without oxygen too long.

Jill was a teacher at All Saints Catholic School for over 20 years. The funeral was at St. Aloysius Church which is a beautiful, ornate cathedral. The place was packed, well over 500 people and when the Priest asked Jill's present and former student to stand, nearly half the room stood up. Very impressive.

I'm noting this because it's tough when one of your contemporaries dies. It brings back the whole fragility of this mortal plain. Additionally, I saw a crap load of people at the funeral that I haven't seen in years. That's the up side of death. It brings people together.