Last night a fascinating show came on the television about a man who weighs over 750 pounds. He's only 26, and hasn't left his bed in 7 years (this brings to mind the grandparents in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). Unfortunately, his legs gave way (weigh?) one day in the kitchen and he came thundering down, never to arise again. He claims to be perfectly capable of doing everything from his bed, including cooking his food. Also throughout this morbid, fascinating, repulsive show, he was entirely naked, just laying in his bed with a sheet barely covering himself (I'm assuming no clothes are made in his size). Fortunately, his layers and lumps of flesh covered any naughty-bits far from sight. When a team of paramedics had to transfer him to a food-rehabilitation center, they had to use a whale sling to lift him off his bed.
Probably for the best, I only saw the first 10 minutes of this show -- the channel was changed due to my family's extreme disgust. But this glimpse into the pitiable life of another human made me wonder what caused him to reach this point? He was born a normal baby, a blank slate. This makes me ponder what I might turn out like...even though I'm far from being a baby, there's a lot of time left in my life for morbid surprises that would land me a 1 hour television special. I also wonder what I would exchange to avoid a fate such as this--a form of "would you rather?". Would I rather live in poverty and exploitation in a third world country, or have food and shelter even if it means not being able to leave my bed?
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