Last weekend it was our turn to make dinner for the middle school youth group. We set out a simple spread of turkey sandwiches, macaroni & cheese, chocolate chip cookies, and raw vegetables (just so we wouldn’t be ashamed to look the other parents in the eye, although we knew the vegetables wouldn’t be eaten—and they weren’t).
Parents are normally persona non grata, but because I was laying out the food, my diplomatic status was upgraded, and I was able to eavesdrop on the beginning of the session. The lady minister talked about the tsunami in South Asia and asked the pre-teens what they thought. One lad remarked that it was horrible that so many people perished and wondered whether a disaster could happen here. A young lady commented that many adults could die and leave their children behind.
We live between the San Andreas and Hayward faults, so a reasonable listener might expect the conversation to turn to earthquakes and earthquake-preparedness, or, following another line of thought, perhaps someone will bring up the subject of terrorism. The lady minister tried to tease out more information: what would cause many adults to die suddenly?
The lass continued, “I’m worried they’re all going to die of obesity”. Several other participants agreed, at which point I fled to the car to reflect on the profundity of what I had just heard.
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