Here's a physiological note, inspired by Michael Pennington's masterful performance in King Lear. Specifically, one of the ensemble was--shall we say--a fat guy, and he played it to good advantage: he did one bit that was a knockoff (I am sure) of s Brueghel painting I've seen somewhere, and it helped to nail the orientation of the whole production.
Which set me to thinking: you really don't see a lot of fat people in New York. Chunky, maybe, especially when wrapped up in their winter snuggies, but really nothing like the displays of bulk that have become so much defining element of our national consciousness and self-consciousness. And if you doubt me, go take a look at that marvelous portfolio of chart porn served up serendipitously by The Atlantic from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Turns out that the winners of the low-body-mass sweepstakes are almost all in or near the mountain states (which figures, when you stop to think of it). The outliers are (a) Marin County just north of San Francisco and (b) yep, Manhattan.
I suppose the Serious People can offer explanations far more well-armed than my own. You do have a lot hard-drivers who never stroll when they can stride (well: they never stroll at all). I suppose there are a lot gyms, though there don't seem to be quite as many as there were when I first began spending time here back in 1996.
And perhaps the obvious choice: they're not in their cars. They do take buses, and subways (oh boy do they take subways). But at least you have to walk to get to the subway. And, of course, up and downstairs. Yes, that's it. Up and down stairs. Infrastructure solution for America: more subways. With stairs.
Which set me to thinking: you really don't see a lot of fat people in New York. Chunky, maybe, especially when wrapped up in their winter snuggies, but really nothing like the displays of bulk that have become so much defining element of our national consciousness and self-consciousness. And if you doubt me, go take a look at that marvelous portfolio of chart porn served up serendipitously by The Atlantic from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Turns out that the winners of the low-body-mass sweepstakes are almost all in or near the mountain states (which figures, when you stop to think of it). The outliers are (a) Marin County just north of San Francisco and (b) yep, Manhattan.
I suppose the Serious People can offer explanations far more well-armed than my own. You do have a lot hard-drivers who never stroll when they can stride (well: they never stroll at all). I suppose there are a lot gyms, though there don't seem to be quite as many as there were when I first began spending time here back in 1996.
And perhaps the obvious choice: they're not in their cars. They do take buses, and subways (oh boy do they take subways). But at least you have to walk to get to the subway. And, of course, up and downstairs. Yes, that's it. Up and down stairs. Infrastructure solution for America: more subways. With stairs.
