Saturday, November 3
The Fat Wars: It starts young
So today is a bit of a story, I think it’s a nice change, I haven’t written a story for a while. Well actually that was a lie. I tell my friends my stories all the time, but I’ve never really shared one. So here it goes. I was in the public bathroom today, which I dreaded incredibly. It may seem strange to the person who does not know me that well, or has never read anything I have written, but I do enjoy listening to some of the conversations that occur around me. It doesn’t only happen in the bathroom, buses are great for hearing things, and at work, or in the food court. Basically if you have ears that can hear well, and there is a place with some people talking, you can listen and pick up fascinating insights into the way people live. Back to the point of this story, I’m sitting there listening to this conversation which I thought was between a grandma and her grand- daughter by the sound of the voices. Her grand-daughter would have been quite young, under 6. Anyway the girl is asking her grandmother “Are you still there?” and the grandma is replying aggravated “Hurry Up!” and the child asks again “Are you still in the toilet?” and yet again the grandmother again asks the child to hurry up. The next part shocked me the most, the child then went on to say “I know your there, I can see your fat”. It shocked me to know that a child could know of such a thing as fat. Maybe she wasn’t picking on it in the cruel and cynical way most people do. But still, this child was pointing out her features. After this her mother hurriedly left and as the child was leaving I saw that the voice which I thought belonged to a little girl actually belonged to a boy, and that the grandma was in fact a mother. It scares me to think what this boy might grow up to become. Another person so frightened by there body image, and put off by the so called ‘ugly’ people? I surely hope not. And so ends today’s rant, I hoped you enjoyed it. Please write down what you hear, it’s enjoyable. Keep a diary of all the conversations, even if it’s just a few lines. In later years when you look back you’ll enjoy the humour. Let me know if you have any good ones, and for the first time ever, you can contact me: chocaholicdreams@hotmail.com Have fun! Labels: bathroom, child, conversations, Fat, listen, mother, society, spy, young