All’s Well That Ends Well

There is a story on the Fox site today about a boy who spent the school year as an exchange student in Egypt. When he came back to the States, the once 155 pound boy weighed in at a mere 97 pounds, so weak he struggled with his baggage and, according to doctors, “he was at risk for a heart attack”.

What happened in Egypt? He was housed with a family of Coptic Christians, Orthodox Christians that is, “who fast for more than 200 days a year, a regimen unmatched by other Christians.”

Needless to say, his family is considering a lawsuit. The Egyptian host family has denied the claims and, in the end, who knows what really happened. What I do know, however, is that my two year old daughter joins the rest of the family (all the kids started fasting at a young age) during the fast. Perhaps we have a wider variety of lenten foods to choose from in America. Maybe….but then again, knowing how Serbs can preparing such tantalizing lenten meals without using “soy this” or “soy that” I am under the impression that the Copts are just as talented.

Oh well. Like I said, I like to give the kid the benefit of the doubt. Though, I should admit that before each lenten season begins I always look forward to losing at least 20 pounds and it always seems to backfire on me.

The end of this news piece however reminded me of something else I read today from Australia: a fisherman swam 10 hours after his boat hit a reef and sank. Later, another fisherman was rescued, as he clung to an insulated cooler after the ship went down. He was quoted as vowing to never go out to sea again. Though they were rescued it seems like a tragic thing for a fisherman to say.

The story about the kid who fasted too much ended on a better note as we’re told that he is recovering and “recently went snowboarding with friends….[and] despite the ordeal, he has not soured on foreign travel”, he is already making plans to visit Zimbabwe.

I guess it’s case of all’s well that ends well.