Sept. 14, 1851
It appeared that we weighed, -- Tolman I think about 160, Conant 155, Keyes about 140, Kelsey 130, myself 127.
That's Thoreau on the right -- on a pedestal -- and I've still got a few inches on him. Not to mention a few pounds. (In the background is a replica of his cabin at Walden Pond. HDT sold the original to a friend when he left the pond, who used it as a lean-to to house his animals.)
So physically HDT was a small man, even as his influence has been titanic.
Now for Thoreau and his freinds to weigh themselves was a rare thing. Your average American was not constantly haunted by bathroom scales back in the day. (And what with better food and more physical labor, being underweight was much more of an issue than being overweight.) Thoreau was primarily a vegetarian, though he also apparently enjoyed his mother's homemade pies. Who doesn't?
[By the way, if you've never seen it rent/download sometime the movie Little Big Man, starring Dustin Hoffman.]
So physically HDT was a small man, even as his influence has been titanic.
Now for Thoreau and his freinds to weigh themselves was a rare thing. Your average American was not constantly haunted by bathroom scales back in the day. (And what with better food and more physical labor, being underweight was much more of an issue than being overweight.) Thoreau was primarily a vegetarian, though he also apparently enjoyed his mother's homemade pies. Who doesn't?
[By the way, if you've never seen it rent/download sometime the movie Little Big Man, starring Dustin Hoffman.]
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