WHERE ARTERIES EXPLODE

As I sometimes do, I scoped out the Dutch Newspapers on the internet. Nothing remarkable there. It's almost like the United States and our craziness are a foreign world. Much like they are here in San Francisco. Another similarity is that neither they nor we are enthusiastic about American tourists. They eat too much, they dress funny, and they smell bad.

This past week there were no American tourists at the places in Chinatown where I ate. Which is okay, the food would have confused them, and they're known to barely tip.

Heading to lunch along Grant Avenue the other day I counted elephantine people, reaching well over twenty in a mere three blocks. All of them were white. I've read that Alabama and Mississippi have the highest obesity numbers in the country, as well as the highest rates of diabetes. That might have been them right there, then.

But those could have been Texans too.
Everything is larger in Texas.


One of the nicest cities in the country is on the edge of The South, with rolling countryside, four seasons, a pleasant climate, two good research hospitals and a well-reputed university, culturally diverse, plus reasonably high standards of living. I found out about the place a few years ago when doing a credit check on a new customer who wished to retail our products. Obesity and diabetes rates there were through the roof, more people with mobility devices and regular dialysis than most European countries, and an organ transplant hotbed.

The local snack culture was heavily based on cheese. American cheese. And sugar.
So I regretfully decided not to visit, as I am not suicidal.

When I came back to the United States years ago, real cheese, good bread, decent coffee, and chili paste, sambal, and hot sauce were hard to find. Olives only came in jars, spices were rare. Large parts of the country are still like that. We sent in missionaries when we should have sent in cooks.

There is good reason to believe that much of the country still lives on chicken-fried steaks or frozen meat patties, served with cottage cheese, jello salad, and miracle wip potato salad on the side. And ketchup.

Or fried chicken, with all of the above.
Plus spaghettiOs.



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