Clarification: when I said I hauled a "tractor trailer," I meant a lawn tractor trailer. Not one of those big-honking trailers on a big rig--just in case any of you were confused about my actual brute strength. It is official, by the way: healthy eating leads to weight gain. I seem to have gained yet another couple pounds. I'd like to feed myself the old saw about muscle weighing more than fat, but I'm probably more buffoon than buff.

But at least it gives me a chance to tell one of my favorite stories. When I was a freshman at BU I worked on the maintenance crew mowing lawns and moving desks around. One of my co-workers was a fellow student from Ireland who was on their Olympic team as a shot-putter. He was a big mass of muscle, as you might imagine. One day we were riding in the back of a pick-up truck to our next assignment and I said, "Someday all that muscle will turn to fat." Now, before I share his response, keep in mind that at the time I was about 145 pounds soaking wet.

So he says, "The skinny man's lament. Someday, I'll still be big and strong and you'll still be skinny and useless."

Well, at least he got the second part right.