Some very sad news from MSNBC:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26178315/

I remember first reading about Sandy Allen in the Guinness Book of World Records back in the early 1980s, and then later seeing her on a TV interview.  She had said that she'd received a lot of nasty comments and jokes about her size, and it hurt, but then she rationalized that many folks were doing that to "cut her down" so they wouldn't feel so small.

It's a great outlook like this that's made Sandy a big influence and inspiration in much of my writing.  Losing her's tough; she's left a huge hole that nobody and nothing else is ever going to fill.