From: wvenable@algona.stats.adelaide.edu.au (Bill Venables)
Newsgroups: alt.support.diet
Subject: Re: Swimming (was: One whole week)
Date: 8 Nov 92 11:23:44
Organization: Department of Statistics, University of Adelaide
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In-reply-to: jsl+@pitt.edu's message of 5 Nov 92 18:55:43 GMT

>>>>> "John" == John S Lundberg <jsl> writes:

John> I always figured it'd take an island well away from the shipping
John> lanes for me to consider it.

Oddly enough John, the last time I did go swimming was in just such a place.
It was at a tiny remote island on the Great Barrier reef.  Marvellous stuff -
crystal clear water in absolutely beautiful surroundings and totally alone.
However the time before that had more in common with Steve Dyer's experience.

My brother and I were travelling north on Cape York, a very remote part of
tropical Australia.  We had been driving all day on a dusty, unsealed road and
this was mid afternoon on a very hot, sultry summer day, so we stopped by the
Pascoe river for afternoon tea.  We had not passed any vehicles going in
either direction all day and it was just too much - we stripped off and went
in and were having a marvellous time splashing around like a couple of kids.
This was the late 80s and I was about 26 stone and he a mere 17.  Great days.

However we hadn't been in long when we noticed that not one but *two* vehicles
had pulled up at the side of the road and about a dozen young people were
calmly eyeing us off.  There was no way out.  We slowly got out of the water
with all the dignity of a pair of Hippopotami, dried ourselves, clothed and
started to make our afternoon tea.  Then one of the young folk came over and
in a thick French accent asked us if we had seen anything in the water.  When
we said no, they all calmly took their clothes off and went in, too!

It turned out they were Jacques Cousteau's technical team and they had just
been further north swimming with, and filming, crocodiles and had had some
rather awkward and delicate moments.  [Yes, there *are* crocodiles in the
Pascoe river, but that's another story...]

Intellectually I know I really shouldn't care if other poeple have a
problem with my obesity, but when you have been ridiculed since childhood
because of your physique it is emotionally hard to tough it out, (even if
all the evidence is that nowdays nothing will actually happen).

If you can stand one more little anecdote from the same trip, I had a good
illustration of how obesity is viewed very differently in different cultures.
We called in at Lockhart River, a small aboriginal community.  Now these folk
are not as uptight about curiosity as we are, and we both attracted the
occasional surprised glance from the adults, but me especially.  However it
wasn't long before I was being followed around by a small group of scruffy
looking, though angelic little urchins who would peep at me around corners and
from behind bushes.  No giggling, just this peeping.  It was most unnerving.

My brother actually lives nearby and later explained to me what was going on.
In the aboriginal (islander) community the only people who are fed well are
the chiefs; everyone else has to look after themselves, and it's hard work.
Consequently the chiefs often get very fat.  Obesity is strongly associated
with leadership, power and generoisty, and it commands respect and affection.
These little kids were expecting that at any time I would start distributing
largesse to the masses!  As my brother so delicately put it, "They were always
curious about who I was, but they must have thought you were God or someone!"

Cheers for now, and thanks for your encouragement,	Bill.
--
___________________________________________________________________________
Bill Venables, Dept. of Statistics, | Email: venables@stats.adelaide.edu.au
Univ. of Adelaide, South Australia. | Tel: +61 8 228 5412  Fax: ...232 5670