Heavy
December 11, 2015 3:27 PM Subscribe
"These days, when I see someone so heavy, I think, That’s a happy person." Raised in a sharecropper’s cabin, trapped inside half a ton of flesh, this literate, companionable young man had dreamed of seeing the world. Aside from some carnival tours and one disastrous trip to New York, he never lived his dream. But in his short life, he found something else.
The story of Robert Earl Hughes.
I remember this fella from a 1970s Guinness Book Of World Records.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 3:42 PM on December 11, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by GallonOfAlan at 3:42 PM on December 11, 2015 [7 favorites]
Coming from a family of morbidly obese people, that pull quote feels like it wants to be ironic. When I think of someone that heavy, "happy" might be the furthest word from my mind.
posted by nevercalm at 3:57 PM on December 11, 2015
posted by nevercalm at 3:57 PM on December 11, 2015
Video clip featuring interviews with Guy and Lillian Hughes, with pictures of Robert: Robert Earl Hughes Was A Mighty Big Man (SLYT).
posted by Schadenfreude at 4:15 PM on December 11, 2015
posted by Schadenfreude at 4:15 PM on December 11, 2015
At four, my father’s size struck me as the perfect protection against a place so large as the world.
This line struck me. My mother and father are both fat - by the standards of the era. So in the 70s they were heavy teens, in the 80s heavy parents, in the 90s they were fat by those standards, and in the current era both are 'morbidly obese'. My father had gastric bypass surgery, to the usual middling success it offers. He is an enormously strong man, calves like beer barrels, that kind of thing. My mother is the mumsy woman from old-fashioned paintings, dusted with flour and wiping her hands on her apron as she beatifically looks out over her children.
I've never been able to emotionally parse fat as anything but a kind of home. Not necessarily safe - although being fat is certainly a kind of safety for me in terms of masculine attention - but home. Only one of my partners has ever been fat and I can still, vividly, remember the glorious feeling of the softness of his belly and chest, the squish and curve of him against my own squish and curve. The relationship didn't work out for a variety of reasons but he remains one of my best friends and I wish the rest of the world would see him in that same loving way I do.
I've been obese, I'm not now, and while happy doesn't encompass it I felt a kind of warm glow the other day watching an elderly obese woman sitting at the bus stop eating a little cup of ice-cream. There was such a glorious simple happiness to everything about her in that moment. Such a contrast to those godawful, gut wrenching statistics about how people in the US (and I assume many other places) view obese people. I just don't fundamentally understand how people can think like that, act like that, based on weight of all things.
The litany of kindness, the special chair and the supply of pencils, and that trip to his half-sister's house? That is the glory of this piece. It couldn't have been written by anyone who didn't have those kinds of emotional resonances, because this is a story, ultimately, about a man who was so kind and about the kind people around him.
posted by geek anachronism at 4:30 PM on December 11, 2015 [69 favorites]
This line struck me. My mother and father are both fat - by the standards of the era. So in the 70s they were heavy teens, in the 80s heavy parents, in the 90s they were fat by those standards, and in the current era both are 'morbidly obese'. My father had gastric bypass surgery, to the usual middling success it offers. He is an enormously strong man, calves like beer barrels, that kind of thing. My mother is the mumsy woman from old-fashioned paintings, dusted with flour and wiping her hands on her apron as she beatifically looks out over her children.
I've never been able to emotionally parse fat as anything but a kind of home. Not necessarily safe - although being fat is certainly a kind of safety for me in terms of masculine attention - but home. Only one of my partners has ever been fat and I can still, vividly, remember the glorious feeling of the softness of his belly and chest, the squish and curve of him against my own squish and curve. The relationship didn't work out for a variety of reasons but he remains one of my best friends and I wish the rest of the world would see him in that same loving way I do.
I've been obese, I'm not now, and while happy doesn't encompass it I felt a kind of warm glow the other day watching an elderly obese woman sitting at the bus stop eating a little cup of ice-cream. There was such a glorious simple happiness to everything about her in that moment. Such a contrast to those godawful, gut wrenching statistics about how people in the US (and I assume many other places) view obese people. I just don't fundamentally understand how people can think like that, act like that, based on weight of all things.
The litany of kindness, the special chair and the supply of pencils, and that trip to his half-sister's house? That is the glory of this piece. It couldn't have been written by anyone who didn't have those kinds of emotional resonances, because this is a story, ultimately, about a man who was so kind and about the kind people around him.
posted by geek anachronism at 4:30 PM on December 11, 2015 [69 favorites]
I don't do this often anymore but, [this is good].
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:32 PM on December 11, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:32 PM on December 11, 2015 [3 favorites]
It's a very nice article, but I'm disappointed that the author didn't mention that Hughes was only a couple hours' drive away from the hometown of another extraordinary son of Illinois.
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:58 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:58 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
Hughes was only a couple hours' drive away from the hometown of another extraordinary son of Illinois.
Really, there must be something in the water there, because of course the article did mention Miss Ella Ewing, one of the tallest women in history and also from very near to where Hughes lived.
posted by flug at 5:45 PM on December 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
Really, there must be something in the water there, because of course the article did mention Miss Ella Ewing, one of the tallest women in history and also from very near to where Hughes lived.
posted by flug at 5:45 PM on December 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
Clearly something else besides eating was going on, the poor guy. He made the best of his shitty hand, but damn.
posted by emjaybee at 5:50 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by emjaybee at 5:50 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
The love that his brother, his family, and his friends had for him is really something special.
Thanks for posting this story.
posted by math at 6:05 PM on December 11, 2015 [8 favorites]
Thanks for posting this story.
posted by math at 6:05 PM on December 11, 2015 [8 favorites]
I love the way this is written. The sheer...acceptance.
Thanks so much for posting it.
posted by Salamander at 7:51 PM on December 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
Thanks so much for posting it.
posted by Salamander at 7:51 PM on December 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
Beautiful story.
posted by bongo_x at 8:25 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by bongo_x at 8:25 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
Wonderful story. I loved how his difference did not break him, but that he accepted it and worked with it. As a chubby guy myself (who has, amazingly, lost over 30 pounds in the last four months (sorry, girls, less of him to love! as if there were girls...) with only some mild dietary adjustments, I must admit the part about his acceptance by his town neighbors was pretty damn awesome too.
Goddamn dust! And in my eye too! You'd think the glasses would stop that...
posted by Samizdata at 9:01 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
Goddamn dust! And in my eye too! You'd think the glasses would stop that...
posted by Samizdata at 9:01 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is a lovely story, thank you for posting.
posted by triggerfinger at 9:23 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by triggerfinger at 9:23 PM on December 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
I remember him from the old Guinness record books. It's good to see his _story_, that is, details about him that don't just reduce him to a carnival statistic.
posted by anothermug at 5:22 AM on December 12, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by anothermug at 5:22 AM on December 12, 2015 [3 favorites]
The crowds observed Robert Earl from behind a wooden partition—not because he was afraid of people or they of him, but because teenagers and drunks, refusing to believe he was real, had burned his arms too many times with cigarettes.
Oh dear God, the poor man. People can be such assholes.
posted by essexjan at 5:50 AM on December 12, 2015 [3 favorites]
Oh dear God, the poor man. People can be such assholes.
posted by essexjan at 5:50 AM on December 12, 2015 [3 favorites]
Thanks for sharing this article.
posted by Halo in reverse at 7:06 AM on December 12, 2015
posted by Halo in reverse at 7:06 AM on December 12, 2015
Holy crap, I wondered why I remembered that name. Obsessively reading Guinness' record books in the 70's and 80's. Robert Wadlow, Sandy Allen, those two brothers on motorcycles whose names I cant remember. Wow, my public high school library sucked.
That being said, at a point in my life, I was 5'11" and weighed 280-285#. "My dad was fat"? As I've said before, I'm a beefy dude from a long line of beefy dudes. I didn't feel all that fat, just puffy, maybe jowly. I don't know why you felt the need to shame.
posted by Sphinx at 9:47 AM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
That being said, at a point in my life, I was 5'11" and weighed 280-285#. "My dad was fat"? As I've said before, I'm a beefy dude from a long line of beefy dudes. I didn't feel all that fat, just puffy, maybe jowly. I don't know why you felt the need to shame.
posted by Sphinx at 9:47 AM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
'Fat' is a descriptor, not a shaming term. It can be used that way - I did like in the article explaining how Hughes used the term 'heavy' but I didn't read that section as 'shame' ridden at all, just neutral. I was 225lb at 5'4" at one point in my life; I was fat. I am still somewhat fat (175lb after christmas dinner). That is not to shame myself, that is just an informative statement - I was not 'husky' or 'beefy', I'm fine-boned and non-athletic. I was just fat. My dad was beefy, was husky, now he is also fat. Mum was curvy, she is also now fat. My sister is curvy and athletic, she is not fat (for all that we have similar statistics in terms of weight and height, she runs up mountains while I argue on the internet). These are just things about our bodies.
Fat is not shameful. Tying shame to the word is part of the problem I think, but to me it's a little like trying to shame me for my small feet. Yes, they are small? Good observational skills? Society has turned a description into a shaming device, flung at everyone at every size, and I think the article was pretty clear on not shaming anyone for their weight or size. Fat was not a negative cognitive thing in the essay, it just was. Much the way Hughes accepted himself - 'poor guy' and 'shitty hand' based just on how he was seem antithetical to the piece, and to Hughes himself.
posted by geek anachronism at 3:14 PM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
Fat is not shameful. Tying shame to the word is part of the problem I think, but to me it's a little like trying to shame me for my small feet. Yes, they are small? Good observational skills? Society has turned a description into a shaming device, flung at everyone at every size, and I think the article was pretty clear on not shaming anyone for their weight or size. Fat was not a negative cognitive thing in the essay, it just was. Much the way Hughes accepted himself - 'poor guy' and 'shitty hand' based just on how he was seem antithetical to the piece, and to Hughes himself.
posted by geek anachronism at 3:14 PM on December 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
This story made me cry. What a life!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 6:47 PM on December 12, 2015
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 6:47 PM on December 12, 2015
Sphinx: "Holy crap, I wondered why I remembered that name. Obsessively reading Guinness' record books in the 70's and 80's. Robert Wadlow, Sandy Allen, those two brothers on motorcycles whose names I cant remember. Wow, my public high school library sucked.
That being said, at a point in my life, I was 5'11" and weighed 280-285#. "My dad was fat"? As I've said before, I'm a beefy dude from a long line of beefy dudes. I didn't feel all that fat, just puffy, maybe jowly. I don't know why you felt the need to shame."
I was your height and weight up to my latest weight loss.
posted by Samizdata at 11:41 PM on December 12, 2015
That being said, at a point in my life, I was 5'11" and weighed 280-285#. "My dad was fat"? As I've said before, I'm a beefy dude from a long line of beefy dudes. I didn't feel all that fat, just puffy, maybe jowly. I don't know why you felt the need to shame."
I was your height and weight up to my latest weight loss.
posted by Samizdata at 11:41 PM on December 12, 2015
Samizdata: "Sphinx:
I was your height and weight up to my latest weight loss."
I don't want to think about how many years of my life that extra weight took off, but I'm with you, last time I was anywhere near a scale I was down to 223. I still wear a 48 suit, maybe a tight 46 if I didn't eat a big meal. I haven't been below 200 since I was on the swim team in high school.
I'm so sick of buying new pants, I'm trying to see if my parents saved any of my old high school jeans.
Wait a minute, aren't Guess and Girbaud for some odd fucking reason back in style? Or am I a skeeve for getting those old penny loafers and Ray Bans out of the closet.
posted by Sphinx at 1:19 PM on December 13, 2015
I was your height and weight up to my latest weight loss."
I don't want to think about how many years of my life that extra weight took off, but I'm with you, last time I was anywhere near a scale I was down to 223. I still wear a 48 suit, maybe a tight 46 if I didn't eat a big meal. I haven't been below 200 since I was on the swim team in high school.
I'm so sick of buying new pants, I'm trying to see if my parents saved any of my old high school jeans.
Wait a minute, aren't Guess and Girbaud for some odd fucking reason back in style? Or am I a skeeve for getting those old penny loafers and Ray Bans out of the closet.
posted by Sphinx at 1:19 PM on December 13, 2015
Wait a minute, aren't Guess and Girbaud for some odd fucking reason back in style?
If you wear them with an oversized brightly colored jacket with the sleeves pushed up they’re timeless.
posted by bongo_x at 2:06 PM on December 13, 2015
If you wear them with an oversized brightly colored jacket with the sleeves pushed up they’re timeless.
posted by bongo_x at 2:06 PM on December 13, 2015
Sphinx: "Samizdata: "Sphinx:
I was your height and weight up to my latest weight loss."
I don't want to think about how many years of my life that extra weight took off, but I'm with you, last time I was anywhere near a scale I was down to 223. I still wear a 48 suit, maybe a tight 46 if I didn't eat a big meal. I haven't been below 200 since I was on the swim team in high school.
I'm so sick of buying new pants, I'm trying to see if my parents saved any of my old high school jeans.
Wait a minute, aren't Guess and Girbaud for some odd fucking reason back in style? Or am I a skeeve for getting those old penny loafers and Ray Bans out of the closet."
I am currently just above 250. See if we can't run this into the ground. Already having pant/belt issues, damn it!
bongo_x: "Wait a minute, aren't Guess and Girbaud for some odd fucking reason back in style?
If you wear them with an oversized brightly colored jacket with the sleeves pushed up they’re timeless."
Forget that. I will rock that with an unbleached untailored linen jacked.
posted by Samizdata at 4:10 PM on December 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was your height and weight up to my latest weight loss."
I don't want to think about how many years of my life that extra weight took off, but I'm with you, last time I was anywhere near a scale I was down to 223. I still wear a 48 suit, maybe a tight 46 if I didn't eat a big meal. I haven't been below 200 since I was on the swim team in high school.
I'm so sick of buying new pants, I'm trying to see if my parents saved any of my old high school jeans.
Wait a minute, aren't Guess and Girbaud for some odd fucking reason back in style? Or am I a skeeve for getting those old penny loafers and Ray Bans out of the closet."
I am currently just above 250. See if we can't run this into the ground. Already having pant/belt issues, damn it!
bongo_x: "Wait a minute, aren't Guess and Girbaud for some odd fucking reason back in style?
If you wear them with an oversized brightly colored jacket with the sleeves pushed up they’re timeless."
Forget that. I will rock that with an unbleached untailored linen jacked.
posted by Samizdata at 4:10 PM on December 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm just now reading this and it's wonderful. Thanks for posting it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:03 AM on December 15, 2015
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:03 AM on December 15, 2015
« Older Three farting uncles, Two puking dogs, Anaphylaxis... | GOT for Tots Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
The loss of a parent awakens impulses. Shortly after Georgia died, Robert Earl wrote a letter to Heart’s Desire, a radio program in Hollywood. “I’ve been very large all my life, not able to work. I’m said to be the world’s largest man. I’m 21 years old and weigh 754 pounds. I am not able to get around. My Heart’s Desire is for a radio and a camera, so if I do get to go anywhere I can take pictures. . . . I’m too large to work. My belt is 110 inches around, and if you’ll send me these things, I’ll never forget you.” The show sent him the camera and radio. They likely never considered the most important line in the letter: “. . . if I do get to go anywhere.”
oh my god my heart
posted by listen, lady at 3:34 PM on December 11, 2015 [7 favorites]