Everyone who knows me knows I’m a sensitive person. I cry over commercials, I cringe at
watching shows like America’s Funniest Video’s because I can’t stand to watch
people get hurt. I don’t find it
funny when a man gets hit in the beans and frank with a piñata bat. I love laughing, but I don’t find
myself laughing at the misfortune of other people.
This afternoon we did our 30 minutes of mandatory family
reading. Bennett read his new
Stephen King novel, I read more from the Blood Sugar Solution, Molly
read her fish book and Maggie read her poem book she picked up at the library a
few weeks ago. Maggie kept wanting
to read some of the poems out load to me.
One of them was called Mr. Carumba.
Before I tell you about Mr. Carumba, let me share with you
the title of the book and it’s book jacket description. It’s called Poem Depot Aisles of
Smiles by Douglas Florian. The
back of the book reads, “Load up on laughs in this one-stop poetry book” The inside jacket reads, “Artist and
award-winning author Douglas Florian captures of comedy of kids’ everyday lives
in this jam-packed volume. Meander
through the different aisles of this virtual department store on nonsense
poems-such as Jest & Jives or Tons of Puns – to find everything from
laugh-out-loud limericks to frenetic free verse. Florian’s fans will have cartloads of fun in the Poem Depot.” So this book is supposed to be funny?
Right? That’s how it’s
advertised. Everything written in
it is supposed to make the reader laugh out load. Many of them are rather silly and funny. I personally loved the Mean Meat Loaf
one. But, then Maggie read me Mr.
Carumba.
Mr. Carumba
Mr. Carumba is so
very wide,
He takes up six seats
when he goes for a ride.
For him it’s a
challenge to fit through a door.
He doesn’t wear one
belt, he wears twenty-four.
And just like a beach
ball, he rolls down the stairs.
He’s already broken
one hundred five chairs.
When he walks on
sidewalks he leaves behind cracks.
And seven course
meals are for him merely snacks.
The shadow he cast
sometimes covers two states.
He uses great
satellite dishes as plates.
He wears a big circus
tent for a top hat.
He eats with a
pitchfork and drinks from a vat.
I didn’t find this poem funny. Maybe I’m too sensitive or don’t have a sense of humor, but
I don’t find this poem funny in the least bit. I am looking past the outside image for what the poem really
is about. It’s about making fun of
fat people. Fat people are to be
made fun of. Let’s face it. In our society it’s better to be
anything else, but fat. Yet, 70%
of Americans are overweight.
Childhood obesity is at an all time high. We spend billions of dollars on fitness equipment,
supplements, diet plans, weight loss surgery, etc to no avail. It’s perfectly acceptable to call
someone fat. We point and
snicker at the overweight person trying to fit into the amusement park
ride. If you are fat in America,
you are viewed as a slob, lazy, disgusting, and useless. We watch t.v. shows like My Big Fat
Fabulous Life. I thought to myself
when I first saw the previews that I was happy for that girl. I’m happy that she loves herself and is
confident to show the world that she can be fat and happy. But, I was sad too because obesity is
deadly. There is no such thing as
a healthy fat person. Sure, an
obese person might not have high blood pressure, diabetes, or a variety of
other obesity related diseases at a certain time in their life, but it will
catch up to them. I feel bad for
her because even if she looks happy on the outside in the previews, I wonder
how happy she truly is on the inside.
I wonder if she suffers from any of the ailments that I was suffering
from? I wonder how many people watch it because they are happy for her or do
they watch it to make fun of her?
I haven’t watched it yet.
I’m not a big TV watcher, but I wonder what the entertainment is for
people who do watch it. Are they
like me and happy that she is happy, or are they making fun of her?
Sorry, I got off topic a little there. But, this poem screamed a painful reality
to me. I explained to Maggie that
this poem was sad. It wasn’t funny
even if that was the author’s intention.
My own daughter is so sensitive over her weight. She’s a “big” kid. She’s the tallest one in her class, but
also one of the largest. She has
come home from school in the past, bawling her pretty blue eyes out because the
other girls made fun of her big belly.
She wants to wear the cute in-style clothes, but they aren’t made for
“big” girls.
So, Mr. Florian, your poem isn’t funny. Obesity is a sickness. It’s a choice that many of us make, but
it’s also an illness brought on by many things. Things that we can’t or don’t always want to admit. It took me 22 years to realize
that sugar addiction was the root between my struggle to lose weight and stay
healthy. Maybe instead of making fun of fat
people, maybe we can show compassion, love, and understanding. Maybe we can inspire one another to
live healthier lives. Maybe we can
share our own personal experiences to help someone else.
To all the Mr. and Mrs. Carumba’s, whether you are a size 18
or a size 36, in the world. You
are loved. You are beautiful. You are worthy of living a full,
meaningful and healthy life.
Whatever your reasons are for being obese or whatever the causes are for
your obesity, really reflect on those things. No one will ever say that a being obese is healthy. You might be happy, but it’s not
healthy. I’m not suggesting going
on a diet. I’m just saying find
your reason why. If you’ve
yo-yo’ed like me in the past, really try to discover the hidden reasons. Once you find that, you might find
healthy success.
***************************************
7 a.m. wake-up (That’s wicked late for me J)
8 a.m. breakfast:
peanut butter and raisin banana boat, 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond
milk (2 tbsp all natural peanut butter and ¼ cup raisins spread on top of a
sliced banana.)
Morning reflection:
I didn’t know if the peanut butter would hold me over so long. I didn’t show the first signs of hunger
until noon.
12:30 lunch: ¾
cold cooked rotisserie chicken, 1 cup mixed fruit (blackberries, blueberries,
and grapes), 1 cup cold baby carrots, ¼ cup organic hummus. Water to drink.
Afternoon reflection:
Great energy. Got lots of
work done around the house. My
butt and legs are sore from yesterdays Pump workout. I’m not a fan of squats L, but at least I know they are working, right?!
4 p.m. snack:
cara cara orange (My favorite!)
I just started getting hungry.
7:30 p.m. dinner:
homemade kale chips, garden salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette
dressing (((Joe made it and it was awesome! The kids LOVED it too!)))
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