chapter 6

Once the movement took off, it only took a couple of years for the entire population to embrace the idea of getting fat and loving it. The summer Olympics changed drastically. Running events disappeared. Weight lifting, shotput and javelin throws featured bigger, heftier athletes. New events were added, like the tug-of-war. The American men's tug-of-war team weighed 340 pounds on average, besting the Russian team in the finals, who were at a 20 pound disadvantage. The Russian women's tug-of-war team, on the other hand, averaged a whopping 365 pounds, taking the Gold easily. Rumors of weight enhancing drugs spread, but nothing was proved.

The winter Olympics also changed. Events that including jumps were no longer attempted. Downhill runs were still popular, with new records being set with athletes using their extra weight for momentum to pick up more speed. Bobsled tracks were redesigned to be two feet wider, which was an absolute necessity considering the size of the contestants.

Back on Willow Tree Lane, Christy and Janet were still running their pastry business. They had expanded the business several times, and now owned a commercial kitchen and a fleet of delivery trucks. They had continued to gain weight, each leveling off in the mid-200's. Jim and Ed had also beefed up, each of them somewhere over 300 pounds. They had never been happier.

One Saturday night, the four of them sat around Christy and Jim's dinner table after polishing off a huge platter of lasagna with all the side dishes. Dessert and after dinner drinks awaited them, but for the moment they were savoring the feeling of having truly stuffed themselves. Again. Ed spoke up. "The last couple of years have been pretty incredible, having they? I mean, not just for us, but for the world."

"You mean the 'fat movement' that spread so quickly?" asked Christy.

"Yeah," answered Ed. The world seems to have transformed itself, and I'd say it's a great improvement."

"I'll say" added Jim. "Who would have thought that we'd see world peace in our time. The whole world seems to be happy for the first time."

"I wonder how it all started," asked Christy. "Maybe it's a coincidence, but it seems to me that it wasn't long after our pastry business took off that the fat movement started."

Everyone else at the table laughed. "C'mon, Christy," giggled Janet. "Are you trying to say that we are responsible for changing the world? That we should get credit for world peace?"

"Well, since you put it that way, I guess it's pretty far-fetched," said Christy. "Anyway, who's ready for dessert?"