#hometown
Nothing like my hometown showing its latest… Attraction.
Was at the gym yesterday doing my regime, as normal, when suddenly I see a man in an orange shirt. The shirt had distinct patterns of Aboriginal artwork. He just stood there on the stair to the back entrance of the gym I frequent, hollering and knocking on the door. At first, I thought he was a guy who was signing up and was interested in signing up for a membership. But then, his hollering to everyone and no one got louder and his knocking turned into him bashing on the door, so much so that I felt unsafe just after commencing on the exercise machine and doing my reps. This man then switched between bashing the door and trying to pull the door wide open, alerting everyone else gymming and garnering some onlookers. Failing that, he then took off his pants and started pissing off the railing before my PT called the cops and waited for them to rock up (not that they’re any good, because they’re cops). I joked to my PT if we could use the dumbbells as melee weapons. Turns out, this guy was very drunk.
Nothing Lasts Forever - Hometown Crew
I had to submit some health check documents for my insurance from work, it highlighted that I am under the national average weight for my age, sex and height, and that this is ‘unhealthy’.
I’m sorry, United Kingdom, but since I was a kid here the UK sizes have gotten so much bigger - measurably too! Up until recently I was generally a size 10, which through exercise and healthy living dropped to an 8, but recently because of this average size increase I tend to buy 6. Just because a nation is downward spiralling into a lazy, half-assed lifestyle doesn’t mean that being active, eating well and paying careful attention to my diet makes me ‘underweight’, 'unhealthy’ , 'overly concerned with my body’, 'anorexic’, 'stick thin’ and most certainly of all 'WEAK’.
I can guarantee that my weight will not be an issue on my following check in Japan. Why? A lower national average, yes. An overall healthier attitude to eating in Japan? Not sure I can agree with that, but what is getting under my skin is particularly the amount of comments from people I have seen over the past month whilst visiting my home town.
'Oh my haven’t you lost weight! You look so dreadfully thin.’
'Are you eating properly?’
'You look very frail now, don’t you.’
'Have you been ill recently?’
- yes, I have lost weight mostly through cutting processed food from my diet and exercising daily.
-being fit, slim and in CONTROL of my body suggests -to me, anyway - strength, not weakness. Why don’t you try and see?
-you want to slack, fine. I DO NOT. Excessive eating is not necessary. Why is it becoming normal to shame those who make an effort to keep their bodies happy?
I never really liked my hometown
but after you
I hated it
I want to run away and never come back
I wander past the funeral parlor on my way, the one where we bought your headstone. There’s always a lady smoking outside of it and I wonder if the irony is clear to me alone.
You gave up smoking your pipe years ago, before I was ever even considered or born. The love of your life didn’t like it so much, and so you traded the smoke for love’s touch.
-there’s smoke outside the funeral parlor
Jerry’s iconic vest and custom leather jacket.
Pop Up
AIC Pop-Up Shop at The Crocodile Seattle, WA 2018