Growing up as a real skinny kid, I am very sensitive to the plight of young people unhappy with their physical appearance. Trust me, it is NO fun to be 16 years old and nervous about taking your shirt off at the beach for fear of being ridiculed later in class. Kids are brutal. Add that with adolescent acne and it is NOT a pretty scene.
It has to be even worse to be overweight. All you have to do is sit in the middle of the mall (an experience, by the way, I do not wish on ANY male over 20 years old) and you will notice that kids today are a little plump. No, let me rephrase that – they are fat. Initially, I attributed this growing condition to bad diet and technology. All they eat are processed fast foods, drink sugar laced colas or energy drinks. Instead of playing sports in the local ball field, they sit and text or answer Facebook and Twitter messages on their smartphones. And they drive (or are chauffeured) everywhere. I mean when is the last time you saw someone on a bike that wasn’t a middle-aged guy on Saturday in a funny colored shirt and helmut pretending to be Lance Armstrong for a few hours?
After much thought and contemplation, I discovered one underlying reason for this epidemic among young people today (and some adults also) that can be easily corrected.
The answer? Bad manners. Let me explain.
I was at Costco one Saturday afternoon. If you have ever been to my Costco on a weekend, you know the parking lot is a difficult place to maneuver. Not only are there alot of cars, but the lot is littered with shopping carts left by people too damn lazy to return them. Frustrates me. As I got out of my car, I noticed a cart inching its way towards my car. Luckily, with my still “cat-like” reflexes I was able to stop it before it caused damage. I looked around for the culprit and sure enough three young men (between 18 and 20, best guess) had just loaded their car and proceeded to leave their cart a mere three feet from where they were standing – just enough room for them to pull out.
What is so hard about walking 25 yards and returning the damn cart? Something had to be done.
I proceeded to walk behind their car and stand. Wouldn’t move. They looked at me like I was crazy (I was). I then proceeded to tell them that they had three options if they wanted to leave: 1) run me over; 2) beat me up (good luck with that); or 3) take the cart back. And here is where it get’s better. As they were contemplating their options (or calling the police – I am not sure which one actually) an elderly woman about 75 years old and barely five foot tall came up to me, smiled, crossed her arms and said she “wasn’t moving either.” Priceless. Needless to say, they took the cart back.
Now here is my point. Good manners dictates that people return their shopping carts. That requires walking. Walking burns calories. Which keeps the weight off Enough said.
Will that solve our obesity problem? No. But good manners learned early makes for better adults later in life.
And, of course, a less stressful Costco experience.