Pound For Pound

Esmeralda Bermudez (thanks, Raja): Johnny Smith of Hollywood stands before the platform like a man before an altar.

He steps up, he deposits his dime, then he holds his breath as the thin, red dial swings back and forth.

205 pounds.

That's good," he says. "That's where we need to keep it. Can't go any lower than that."

For two decades, the 67-year-old with leukemia has made a ritual trek to consult a 108-year-old scale. He walks as far as 10 blocks to weigh himself on this nicked, old device in front of a cutlery shop on Broadway near 3rd Street in downtown Los Angeles.