Believe it or not, I was once skinny.

My weight loss was triggered by my husband Al's labored breathing and two heartbeats later no sound or pulse and the shock, numbness and grief that followed.

Five months after, I took my first plane trip at Eastertime in 1974. Soaring high above the clouds with thoughts of spending a week with family in California was exhilarating.

One day, Mom and Dad took me to the boardwalk at Santa Cruz-Never have I laughed so hard as when Mom and I stood before the funhouse mirrors there. The mirrors distorted our images making us look as wide as we were tall, causing us to double over, hold our stomachs and laugh until tears streamed down our cheeks. When our hilarity subsided a bit, we made a mad dash for the rest room.

There are so many good memories around this trip. Indeed, laughter is the best medicine. I still laugh just remembering.

Mary (Beck) Johnson