Dear Abby: This is in response to ”Looking Beyond Looks”-the fat woman who had been humiliated, insulted and ridiculed by total strangers because of her weight. I have a different story to tell:
As a 21-year-old bride, I weighed 126 pounds. (I`m 5 foot 3.) Over the years, I gradually put on weight. I`m now 65 years old and weigh 245 pounds. Although I`d love to be slim to have more choice in clothes, no diet ever worked for me, so now I just don`t worry about my weight.
I`ve always been able to get any job I applied for, and I`ve never lost a day`s work due to illness. People always guess my age to be at least 10 years younger than I am, and I`ve never experienced any rejection or rude comments because of my weight. I am well-proportioned, have a waistline and wear a size 20 1/2 dress.
After 25 years of marriage, my husband died, and since then I`ve been having a wonderful love affair with a charming, slender man. I still get very positive attention from men, and I feel attractive. Last year, when I was at the beach in Europe with my boyfriend-if you can visualize me in a swimsuit-I was actually pursued by a good-looking Italian, much to the ire of my friend! Abby, the point I want to make is this. I feel attractive, and am, therefore, treated that way. It`s a matter of self-image. So let`s dispel the myth that fat girls finish last. I`m fat, and I am:
Enjoying Life in San Francisco
Dear Enjoying Life: ”Thin” may not be ”in” much longer. Hear this:
In the first hearing of its kind, a congressional subcommittee held an informational hearing investigating the safety and effectiveness of weight-loss programs and products. Rep. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) of Oregon said:
”American consumers are spending more than $30 billion a year on weight-loss products and programs. All too often the results are poor, and occasionally life-threatening. And federal regulators are doing very little to assure that products and procedures are safe, and that consumers aren`t being ripped off by grossly misleading advertising.”
According to the newsletter published by The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance: ”There are 65 million dieters in the USA-50 percent are women and 25 percent are men. Sixty percent of all women are usually dieting in some manner. And 18 percent of all adults are constantly dieting.” I rest my case.
Dear Abby: Your column covers such a broad variety of interesting subjects, I find it fascinating. Please provide me with an answer to this mysterious question: Has anyone ever grown a third set of teeth?
Oopah in Ramona, Calif.
Dear Oopah: I asked Dr. Stan Golden, my dental consultant, who went to the root of the matter. His response: ”Nature provides only two sets of teeth. Occasionally a person will grow a third tooth, but it is a rare occurrence. So, if a person is to have a third set of teeth, it will be made- by a dentist.”
