Fat Old People

A while back I attended a stand-up comedy evening at a local club. Some of the entertainers were newbies, others old pros. One comic stood out from all the rest: A pretty, thirty-something woman with long dark hair, she had a great sense of timing and always landed terrific punch lines. The other memorable thing about her was that she was fat. Not just overweight but all the way to Mama Cass fat, she wore tight jeans that were almost bursting at the seams. Still, she was quite endearing and the crowd obviously loved her.

Naturally she joked a bit about her weight, which was one way to keep us all from thinking she was fat. One thing she said that I still recall was about her grandmother, who apparently chided her about her girth whenever she saw her. Mocking Granny for caring about such a frivolous thing, the comedienne got a big laugh by saying, "At the age of 90 she still has a goal weight! Can you imagine?"

The correct answer is, "Yes, I can imagine." At what age is it appropriate to stop caring about how you look and feel? I hope I never get there.