crazy old lady letter
23 Apr 2002I wrote a good old fashioned crazy old lady letter to [GQ][1] tonight, in response to an article by this guy extolling the “virtues” of his apparent insolent lack of concern for his health or diet. Your typical “so what if I weigh 250 pounds and I’m gonna die – if I act insolent about my complete lack of self-control it seems like I do it in purpose even though I hate myself and cry on the inside every time I wolf down a big mac” spiel.
It’s a little pointless without the context of the article, so if you want, read it in the May 2002 issue of GQ – it’s in the “American Scene” section.
Here it is, anyway:
To: [email protected]
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 23:26:34 -0500</p>
As a southern man, I am disturbed that Rick Bragg paints a portrait of
the ideal southern man as a hedonistic, self-indulgent gourmand. I
grew up in the south, and I enjoy and appreciate a good meat-n-three
as I do any other cuisine. However, I also plan on living past 50.
Southern cuisine was born of a time when southern Americans worked --
and worked hard. While I'm sure Mr. Bragg works hard, too, I doubt
that he's out there splittin' rails. And neither am I. I work in the
computer industry, and it takes a certain amount of effort and
moderation to maintain physical fitness and health.
Obesity is fast-approaching smoking as the leading cause of
preventable death in the United States. Mr. Bragg is setting a poor
example, and is a sad representative of a "southern man". If he wants
to eat himself into a coronary, that's fine, but it's nothing to be
proud of.
--Chris Wage
[email protected]
http://chris.agenteight.com/ </div>
[1]: http://www.gq.com/