European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 17, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Weighing in at class reunion by Nathalie Dupree Cox news services ust before my High school reunion St scorned to me Hatho world was divided into two types of Poope. The Skinnes and the Rou Dies. As i talked to my High school irions on the phone or in person. 11ried 10 determine were they More like a Modigliani or a Rubens did icy jog. Do aerobics cat Moio than one meal a Flay More import ally. What size wore they my Mother always said comparisons Woie odious but i found myself mentally weighing literally myself again my Peers. So a month before to reunion i decided i needed to lose weight to was an anxiety at Lack because 1 thought All the boys in my class would remember me As a Skinny i we shed 110 pounds until just a Tew years ago so i lies tried the sensible things. A boiled egg or Cereal Wilh skim milk Tor breakfast. Low calorie collage cheese with slices of Tomalo for lunch poached Chicken with steamed Broccoli and Rice or a baked potato for dinner. I sprinkled everything wild herbs. Occasional Ruil. I haled it. I thought about the meals i was missing i Tovo food i want to cat five times a Day if possible Small neals. I Lew the smells of the Kitchen. I love slicing and chopping and cooking or others i like Bre Mansi in Bod. I crave fresh food. The last time i visited a High school sunny. All inc while recall my hat her Mother was a darn Good Cook i nearly starved to death this Skinny has College ago children and a Nice husband. Her Mother is Beautiful Al 70 my imy id the Skinny is also Beautiful. Sue runs Irico Miles four Days a week and she was pointedly Polne  my protruding stomach although i Hoard her thinking Isk ask As she glanced at in. Bui she does t Eal. She does t feed her family More than one meal a Day either. She told me she gets a High from running. I gel a High rom chopping one Day i was ravenous at noon. She was surprised saying Bui i thought you ale breakfast 1 wondered what has breakfast Gol to do with lunch you see most skinnier Don t Eal. They Don t like food hey Don t like to Cook and they Don t like to Admi Hal food is a requirement of life not Only do they not Cal. They Don t Cook or feed others and they Don t have food spots on heir clothes. Their nails Are polisher and unc hipped. Have you Ever noticed How the so Minos ski does t look As Good As he Rou Dies they look Loo taut and the fines in their faces Are deeper. I worry about hair Shin the Skinny Vogue has aided and abetted heir aversion to Ood encouraging it to become a fetish. In my family when i was a girl if you wanted to exercise More than walking you were a Tomboy. My Best Friend was a Tomboy and i was a bookworm. She s Skinny pm nol Sha called the other Day to Lell me she d seen a Friend of 26 years my she said he looks  yes i know i said. She said. He Lold me i be kept my figure and you had Erma Bombeck gained  thank you for telling me i answered. Well she said i told him you d always had a double Chin i was t just recen  thank you for explaining that f muttered. 11 Weff she said of though he was picking on you Tor saying you had gained weight after All i can say such things about you by 1 Don t want him to. So i put him in his place. I Lold him you said lots of people liked you the Way you were at. You did say thai did t you Forslu Nalty i had another Call and had to gel off the line. A Long distance Beau called and i told him of my Pra reunion vows. I will be 10 pounds lighter when i see you again i proudly announced hoping a declaration would Spur me on As a Challenge. Instead or a Crow 01 pleasure i received a groan. Of no tie said i like you romanesque with that i threw my act out the window. By the time of the reunion i Fil Inte my favorite Rou Dies dress and Felt very comfortable in it. I got there Earty quivering with anticipation at seeing people i had t seen for years thai s when it happened. Like rip Van Winkle the years fell away. My High school sweetheart walked in the door. He d been High school football Captain and i suppose i you saw him today you d think he looked like Kenny Rogers and that he might be considered a bit Beefy. A Roundy even. I did t notice. In fact i did t notice anyone s looks in particular and can t recall concentrating on their dresses or their shapes. As the women were Beautiful All the men handsome just As i d remembered them. The Joy of being together overcame our mortality. We danced and laughed and cried. And i did t see their wrinkles and they did t see me round. Iii Jusi bet Iacre Are some old timers out there Reading this column today who remember when he worst thing that could happen to them was to owe someone. They lived by the philosophy handed Down from their fathers if you can t pay Cash for it you can t Allord in if you can t afford it. Do without today credit is a Way of life. Young people want it All and they want it today. Debtors comprise the biggest tract Reily in this country and the numbers Are to wig every Day people owe for meals i by can t remember eating they owe for vacations where hey had a Rotten time they owe or appliances that no longer work. They of Lor Luggage that has been lost and face lists thai have Lailon to heir Knees. They owe the government axes on Money they made but never saw because they owed it the government should understand thai ii owes several in and a i the hug hell dec Al in the history of the country Page 16 the stars and stripes our parents act grandparents come Tram a time when they saved pennies in jetty glasses and joined Christmas clubs where they deposited 50 cents every week. They put clothes in layaway where they paid a Dollar on them whenever they could and hoped the clothes would 1 go out o style before they could Spring them. I remember an Uncle who bought a secondhand carpet from my parents for $3 he d pay Al on ii then borrow 50 cents Back the next week. It took him a mile Over two years to pay off the three Bucks they still talk about him. Wilh no rend in sight o things Ever getting Back to where they were 20 years ago. What s the answer Well to begin Wilh car designers Are just going to have to come up with an automobile that outlasts the payments. The Way it is now. Payments last three years and the car expires Al so months that Means for 18 months you re not Only making car payments bul paying Tor the repairs someone has to close the Gap saturday october 17, 19b7 before you buy any apparel you must ask yourself am 1 going to love this Coal in the Spring of 83 As much As i love it in the Alloi 37?" because that s How Long it s going to take to pay in off. Before you buy a House a Good Rule of thumb is to ask yourself in your co signer makes enough in a week to pay the interest on it for a month. If he does to shop for a new co signer or you could lose even thing. Before you try to keep up with the Joneses be sure they re not trying to keep up with you. Finally we re All going to have to Start seeing real Money once in a while just to get a handle on How Many ones it lakes to make a in and How when you Lake live of them away you Only have live left. We were playing monopoly he of her night when i landed on Park place i said i could t afford in later one of my kids landed on in and charged n on his credit card that s the difference Between Young and did. Between a son and his Molher la 1h7.l01 Anguei Ifni