When Kurt von Meier was 55-years-old he suffered a major heart attack and had by-pass surgery. Having come through the procedure successfully, the post-surgery photo above shows him looking pretty happy. In his inimitable fashion, his memory and thoughts of his close encounter with death are candid and uniquely his own. He suggested his surgeon wait a week to operate until the equinox, but his idea was declined. "We really don't have time to squander; I'm a busy man," his surgeon replied.