Holiday Cheer ... ala Deliverance?

I am just about at my wits end. Who wouldn't be. This area of the country is uber draining for anyone with a conscience. Orchestrate my surroundings with the holiday season and you've a wonderful recipe for adding years, prematurely. I can't decide if this just makes you older, or speeds up the process to whatever final end. Moreover, the holidays are so entwined with family it's like this whole mess is out of the twilight zone or something ... seriously!

I can't get through one day without thinking, "You sure got a purty mouth," about 3 times. I thought I was doing okay last night, but then I heard a local DJ on the radio. So much for the WT effect not inundating media. Everyone here looks the same. You can pick out 'new comers' by their lack of congruity with the rest of the population. Granted, some people take a bit longer to adjust, but all will aclimatize ... or you move. It's realy scary. I keep wondering how people get by, and if they consider what they jeopardize by living the lifestyles they choose. I mentioned narrowmindedness yesterday, but I think that's only a small portion. Everyone here carries 50 - 75 lbs (per person) more than they should. This is not just a superficial survey, obesity prevails across the population here. There are the few who are really skinny, but I even heard someone 'teased' last night for being so thin ... The kid clearly couldn't help it. He scoffed at everyone and said he was just lucky, as he porked on french fries and chicken wings. Of course he washed it down with sweet tea (at least so sweet I convulse when I get near it). Sadly, the kid will have a child, and gain 50 lbs. It's predictable here. The grotesque thing is that children are relatively fat as well. They all look so sedentary. It appauls me to no end that parents go around with enough weight to threaten their long-term livelihood. I'm talking YOUNG parents, 25 - 30. I joke that I could take 25 people and lose a total of 2000 lbs in 6 months. I'd choose 20 - 35 year olds with families. I'd probably beat my goal, but damn if these people aren't in need ... at least for their kids' sake.

Clearly an issue for me, but only a side dish to the more interesting family dynamics currently undergoing. Everyone's family is dysfunctional. If they aren't, there is something wrong. Splitting time between families seems appropriate, particularly when the families live in close proximity. My family takes the splitting of time to an extreme. On the 23rd we had one xmas. We got the 24th off, more or less -- we ended up getting together with everyone for 'lunch'. I was thoroughly nauseous from my diet-deviating activities. No surprise there. In any event, I requested a lunch with salad. Any salad. Just big, green, leafy thingies, with a GRILLED chicken breast. Of course the only place to go like that in town is over at the delapidated 'mall.' It took us 10 minutes just to get in. Luckily that wasn't too bad. The place seated us promptly. A table of 6, pieced together slowly as family members trickle in through the challenge better known as Christmas traffic. Some people came late. I stewed in my juices. Got pissed. My lunch was decidedly mediocre. How can you mess up greens? I didn't even put dressing on them. Anyways. Tomorrow we have our second xmas. I'm REALLY not looking forward to that process. We've a lunch at 2 (fun time to have lunch if you can plan accordingly) and a family 'gift exchange' later that night. I am taking baked apples in an attempt to curb my persistent nausea, but it probably won't go well. Who knows. I think the food here slowly poisons me ... I can't wait to get back and attempt to get healthy again. I'm so far removed from my element at this point my legs've started to atrophe ... no joke. Hopefully I'll come back sated and tanned though. I'm excited to see everyone. More tomorrow hopefully!

Sending my warmest holiday wishes to all reading these morose pages,

~b