Dreamrail

Number Six – We Are Very Fat

One out of four people are fat. You don’t like that? Fat may sound harsh, but it’s the subject here. If you feel better saying one out of four weigh more than ten percent above their proper chart line, that’s fine. To keep things simple, I’ll just say they’re fat.

Now that we’ve agreed on twenty-five percent, I’ll throw in a statement made by experts: Two-thirds of all Americans are overweight or obese. Yeah, one-fourth was hard enough to swallow; now I’m asking you to digest two-thirds.

Consider another thought now: We are quickly approaching the point where four million Americans weigh more than 300 lbs. and half a million of that group are over 400 lbs.

I’m not just tossing these statements out, but I’m not going to varify them either. I don’t think I know four million people, let alone four million fat people. Check around the internet for articles in newspapers and facts released by the medical associations around the country. You’ll see these things repeated over and over: four million really big people walking around; twice as many as during the 1970’s. Sorry, maybe they’re not walking around so much as sitting around.

Why would this happen?

Abundance sums it up. In America we have an abundance.

There is no need to define abundance, no real reason to identify the item of abundance. It is about everything. Think about it. If a guy has enough money to open up one of the fast food chain stores in your town, does he have to think about where the food would come from? What if he can’t get his hands on that much beef, chicken, or potatoes to feed the masses? Where would it all come from?

No problem. This is America. We don’t have to worry about that semi-tractor-trailer rig showing up with a zillion hamburgers and forty million bags of fries. It shows up as long as the bill is paid. I haven’t really gotten serious until just then. Think about this for a minute. It is really something that makes us different than most of the people on this earth.

If we have the money, somebody will pull up and drop off food. There is no thought process that goes, “I wonder if there is enough for them to bring me some.”

This is America. There is not only enough. There is abundance.

You don’t have to own a fast food place to realize this. Pick up your phone, get the number of a local pizza joint. There are probably a couple numbers under a clip or magnet on the front of your refrigerator. As you are ready to dial, do you ever wonder if they’ll have enough pizzas tonight to bring you one? I never have. In fact they say something like, ‘hey, you know if your order a second one it’s only seven bucks.’

“Great! Can I get a third for another seven?”

“Sure, dude. Get as many as you want.”

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# posted by Mike Ripley @ 11:16 PM