What a great few days in gray, overcast, and cold Seattle, where the damp 36-degree weather has chilled these Florida bones. On Wednesday, I did an in-store event at Marlene’s Market & Deli in Tacoma, and I see where Marlene’s has already posted a short story and pictures here at This Link. Around 250 people crammed into every nook and cranny of the store, and everywhere I looked—including the deli section—I saw people standing and listening attentively. I signed close to 150 books afterward.

It was sobering to meet so many people suffering from health challenges, but I did my best to have a brief word with everyone I could. One person who approached me stuck out his hand and introduced himself as Jay Nelson.

“Wait a minute . . . did you work with a nutrition guy named William ‘Bud’ Keith back in San Diego in the mid-1990s?” I asked Jay.

“You have a good memory,” replied Jay. “Yes, that was me.” It was interesting that I remembered Jay’s name because I had never met him before. Bud Keith had talked about what great results Keith enjoyed after working with him to improve his health a couple of years before I arrived in San Diego. I enjoyed having this link with the past.

In case you’re wondering, the filming yesterday at Pike’s Place Market went off without a hitch. I interviewed some fishmongers about how to shop for fish that were caught in a sustainable way, plus their favorite fish to eat. I’m afraid I couldn’t resist: I had to buy some fresh fish myself like snapper, Chilean sea bass, halibut cheeks, and smoked salmon. For good measure, I walked down the Farmer’s Market section and stocked up on fruit for the hotel room. Then my film crew and I drove over to the Space Needle, where we took an elevator to the top of the 605-foot-high structure built in 1961 for the World’s Fair and got some footage in the can. You might see some in an upcoming “Extraordinary Health” TV show.

I’m telling you, I have a marathon speaking schedule coming up this weekend. It all starts tonight at Champions Centre church in Tacoma, which has something like 6,000 members. From tonight to Sunday evening, I’ll speak nine times. There’s the Friday night session of the Perfect Weight America session, three more PWA talks during Saturday, then I’ll speak at the Saturday night evening service, three times on Sunday morning, and a training talk for the good folks at SuperSupplements on Sunday night. I fly out from Sea-Tac on a red eye and will be reunited with my family on Monday morning in Florida.

Will I have voice problems? So far, my voice has held out. Funny though: when I go to sleep, I dream about having problems with my voice, but when I wake up everything’s okay. What am I supposed to do about that?

There’s a good chance that I’ll leave Seattle and the Pacific Northwest without having sampled one of their legendary coffees. That’ll be fine with me. You want the truth plain and without sugar? Good. I’m just not a coffee drinker.