Never judge people on their appearance...

[cylegoddess]

That made me cry!( Im feeling sentimental)
I had two experiences with looks.

I was riding, in all my hip black gear and saw two older folk, whom I caught up with. I said( and they were normal, windcheater ,slightly large white haired ) as they looked nice, can I ride with you>They said, well you may not want to, as youll most likely go faster than we will. So I said, I only LOOK fast! I just need to pace someone as I am getting killed in this wind. The lady, who was a good deal larger than I, beat me like gong - she FLEW! Her hubby chatted with me.

ON my commute last week, I passed a lady , a large lady riding at a good clip , on the hill. She caught up to me and I said, oh good, someone to ride with, oh maybe not as she shot past me, saying, its only hills Im bad at!
She was GORGEOUS!!
I am passed everyday by well, big people FLY BY me on bikes and wow! Its beautiful. I love to see people so fit and graceful on their cycles. I can think of nothing Id like more than being able to be strong and beautiful, in motion. Like they are.

[Fredwina]

This op-ed appeared in my local paper:
http://www.calthomas.com/index.php?news=2569

[andtckrtoo]

This op-ed appeared in my local paper:
http://www.calthomas.com/index.php?news=2569

I like that article. Thanks for sharing.

Even after hearing all of the stories and such, Susan's voice still makes me cry. And her lack of "perfection" appearance-wise makes me smile. While I agree that we should not judge a book by it's cover, I love seeing a plain cover come out with an incredible story.

[BikeDutchess]

Ana, I thought that NY Times Article "Yes, Looks Do Matter" that you posted was interesting too.

many social scientists and others who study the science of stereotyping say there are reasons we quickly size people up based on how they look. Snap judgments about people are crucial to the way we function, they say — even when those judgments are very wrong.

MODERN society, with its awareness of the prejudices of history and its unprecedented ability to introduce so many different types of people to one another, may dilute or even neutralize some preconceived notions. But others will persist and new ones will form, experts say.

I think the key is that we develop the awareness to recognize that (and when) our snap judgments may be wrong.

[OakLeaf]

I think this is one of the really positive things about online communities. We get to know each other, sometimes very well, without having a clue what each other looks like.