LOL!!

Unfortunately, all three pools were in the open, and bathers were required to wear swimsuits. Since I didn’t have a swimsuit, I had to buy one. And the only kind for sale was of the one-size-fits-all variety. No problem, I thought, and went to change. Apparently I had put on some weight, and the seams strained to contain my bulk. As I emerged, a pair of Chinese bathers took one look and said to each other, “Wow, look at that guy. He’s so fat.” I was in shock. I had always considered myself a modest-sized individual, and now I was having trouble wearing the one-size-fits-all swimsuit. I remembered weighing myself a week earlier in Hong Kong. The little card that had fallen out of the slot above the scale had said 190 pounds. Now I was being confronted by the hard truth of what 190 pounds meant for someone five feet seven inches tall. I slipped into the pool, hid beneath the steaming water, and considered my options. Obviously, I was living too large. As a feeble gesture, I decided that for the rest of this trip I was going to limit myself to one beer every other day. I had to do something.