I have no doubt that obese people know that they are obese. When one is obese, one finds it hard to
breathe or to put on one’s own shoes. One doesn’t fit into roller-coaster seats
– that sort of thing. But, sometimes, I look at chubby people and I wonder if they know they are chubby.
The reason I wonder this is because I know I have a pretty inaccurate
concept of how I look, at times. Apparently, I have a lean mind. In my head, I
look a particular way. But, sometimes, I will catch a glimpse of myself in a
convenience store video monitor or I will see my reflection in a display case
and I will wonder, for a moment, when the hell I put on those extra pounds. Who’s the fat guy wearing my hat?
I am in the socially fortunate but medically unfortunate
position of being perceived favorably when I gain weight. People routinely ask
me if I have been lifting weights when I put on a few. So, you can see how I
sort of get lead into a leaner perception of myself than is, strictly speaking,
accurate.
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| From "Wackiki Wabbit," Warner Bros, 1943 |
Even when I am at my thinnest, I’m always fighting a battle.
I keep myself under control, but my “fightin’ weight” is about twenty pounds
below where I am now. So, I empathize with those struggling with their blubberosity;
I’ve been doing it for years.
But, the other day, I was in a store and I saw a chubby guy.
He was decked-out stylishly. He carried himself with a swagger. His hair, not
unlike some werewolves in London, was perfect. For some reason, I almost asked
him if he knows he is chubby. I resisted, ever the consummate gentledude.
