Wringing out from Sandy’s glancing blow to our home, I have a few anecdotes to share from my attendance over the weekend at the Obesity Action Coalition’s first “Your Weight Matters” conference.

I went hoping first to sell books, the first time I’d tried the trade-show route, and my experience did not rise to even my most tamped expectations. Oof.

I know now that the OAC is very bariatric-centric, which I could and apparently should have known, as I learned from a Twitter pal Friday morning. Certainly many of the other vendors, who were selling bariatric-patient food supplements, were aware.

As just about always happens, unexpected experiences flowed from what could be called a mistake. I now have far more exposure to the surgically inclined, and I met some very nice, very interesting, and in a couple of cases, very wounded people.

In this crowd, my weight loss of 155 pounds was merely middle of the road; I met one woman who had lost 365, which was my highest weight. She still has some more to lose, but the release she is experiencing is one of my deepest impressions of the trip.

More conference notes to come ...