It's really bothered me ever since I returned home.
And maybe I'm a little sheltered in my little world here in Alabama and don't really notice it on a daily basis.
We're a fat, lazy nation.
Now, don't get me wrong, I know I have a little weight to lose. The muffin top is jumbo, in my opinion. Steve knows he has some weight to lose, too. Elizabeth? Not so much.... she's adorable, but thinks she could lose some weight, too. Ahhh, she'll look back to photos of her and think to herself "what was I thinking? I'm adorable" in the same way I do when I see photos of myself back in the day and had the same thoughts as she does.
Everywhere I looked I saw people that were very large.... much larger than my family.... and wondered how they rode rides. How they fit in a seat on the bus. How they just managed on a daily basis carrying that much weight around.
Everywhere I looked I saw people in those little motorized scooters. Bumping into them, looking at their frustrated faces as they tried to navigate around "the world." I thought, wouldn't it just be easier to walk?
Now, don't get me wrong, I know there are reasons for people to be in such scooters..... but I think the majority of them are just lazy.
I know, that's a judgement...... maybe it's more of an observation.
But, I looked at my parents who are around 70 and they walked around...... with two young boys..... very busy boys..... and I have to say, I admire them for even tackling the task of taking three of their grandkids to Disney World for 4 days. And I looked at other people.... my age and older...... riding motorized scooters. Sure, some were older..... others just overweight. And I noticed the tags were from rental places around Disney...... they certainly weren't owned by the people...... so did they have them at home and use them on a daily basis? Probably not.
As we walked around EPCOT many days, I wanted to ask the people from the counties we were visiting what they thought of us as Americans. Did they see the same thing I was seeing? Do they think we're a nation full of fat, lazy people? Because that's what I would think.
I know I've heard that other countries think we are fat and lazy.... but for the first time I really saw it with my own eyes.
When we were eating in Italy one day for lunch, I asked our waiter if the delish eggplant parmesan I was enjoying was as good as his moms. He politely said no.... which is what I had expected him to say. He went on to tell us that they don't have chicken parm in Italy and some other things..... and I so badly wanted to ask him my questions..... but chickened out. I guess if I had had a second glass of the sangria they were serving I would have.......
So, here's to my parents who are older and probably wanted a scooter.... but braved the crowds on their feet..... and the others like them. And to parents like me and Steve whose feet hurt every single night from all the walking (and we're runners!).
And seeing first-hand what America really looks like had made us want to exercise a little more and take care of ourselves...... because one day we'd like to take our grandkids to Disney..... and not scooter around.
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5 Comments:
You are exactly right about the US being fat and lazy, and what is worse is how fat kids are now. I can't imagine as a parent letting my kids become obese when there is something I could do about it. We don't keep junk food at our house for that very reason. Tyler played against a basketball team Saturday that had two 14 or 15 year olds that were AT LEAST 250 pounds! One could not even run up and down the court. It's so sad and you know for most of them they will only get bigger and have all kinds of health problems starting at an early age.
Oh, you are not the only one with those thoughts. If you go on the disboards, there are often quite heated debates on the topic. My opinion is that you should have to have a handicap permit from a doctor to use them in the parks, just as you do for the parking spots. The last couple of trips we were there more times than not the rides stopped at some point midway for them to load/unload people from scooters.
One of the things I noticed in Italy was that the portions weren't crazy bit and people took a l-o-n-g time to eat. I agree...I want to walk my grandkids around too.
It is TRULY sad. I totally agree with you and find laziness to be disgusting - even when I notice it in myself!
They were probably on scooters because they have blown out their knees - not from running but from carrying too much weight. I don't mean that to sound "mean" but I know several people in that circumstance. SAD.
You are exactly right. It is so sad to see. I hate going to stores and seeing people who are just to fat & lazy using the carts provided instead of walking.
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