Top Comments - XXXXXXXXXXL

In the movie ‘Out of Africa,’ Meryl Streep recited lines of Isak Dinesen, in which she said something like:

I've got this little thing that I've learned to do lately. When it gets so bad,and I think I can't go on, I try to make it worse. I make me think of our camp in the river and Boteli, and the first time that you took me flying. How good it all was, and when I am certain that I can't stand it, I go one moment more, and I know I can bear anything ...

(Could only find the quotation here.)

Well, I found a counterpart to this, the subject for tonight’s diary!


In 2004, Scott Cutshall, 38, was told by his physician that if he did not have stomach reduction surgery and heavy medication that he would be dead in six months. Even the prospective surgery offered little real hope. Scott’s weight was so extreme that he was given no better than a 50-50 chance of surviving the surgery.

You see, Scott would awaken every day and put his 501 pound body into size XXXXXXXXXXL pants.

Not one to obsess about the medical diagnosis, confronted with two really miserable options, Scott chose a third. He decided he would begin cycling to lose weight and save his life.

Flip a coin. Tails you live. Heads you're dead.

"I hated those odds," he said.

So he ignored the doctor. He didn't flip the coin. He flipped his life instead.

(From here.)

That was a challenge, because no bike off the rack would accommodate his massive weight. A custom-built bike would be the only option, and most builders did not take the challenge seriously. Finally he found a builder, Bob Brown of Bob Brown Cycles, who agreed to build a bike which could support him.

On Thanksgiving Day, 2005, Scott Cutshall went on his first bicycle ride, a mammoth excursion of 1.9 miles which took over three hours. He created his own diet, and began a blog, Large Fella on a Bike.

By May of 2006 he was down to 413 pounds, and had the momentum he knew would save his life.

You can read more about his story, here. (And it is from that story that this diary was written.)

He eventually got into a routine of riding 20 - 30 miles per day, at the conclusion of which, he would always ride one mile more.

Every day was 20 or 30 miles of pedaling. Plus one more mile after he got home. "I get home, I turn around and I ride one more mile," he said. "This is to prove I can do it."

Thank you, Isak Dinesen. Thank you, Scott Cutshall.

I do not know what you will think of Scott Cutshall’s story, but to me he is a great inspiration, changing his life so dramatically, so decisively. He refused to be a victim, he refused to accept someone else’s assessment of what his life had to be, he found his own brilliant path.

My second great hero in this story is Bob Brown, for taking a fellow human being seriously, to build a bike for an unlikely customer. Two amazing individuals.

On to comments! :)

From 4thepeople:

In tonight's diary IN-06 Dem Candidate Barry Walsh Punched in the Face, ceebee7 reminds people not to pick fights with those who buy ink by the barrel, to which auntialias responds with a short, sweet reminder of the power of the internet to expose abuses.

Auntialias' comment is my candidate for the Top Comments diary.

From poligirl:

The comment I am nominating is the second one down, by Nowhere Man, in response to eternallyvigilant’s comment about Barry Welsh getting punched yesterday by a Repub lackey.

From madgranny:

In  GreenMtnState 's diary "Watching Bush Without Sound" both 1BQ and madmommy add their experiences to the discussion.

(And no, madmommy is not my daughter - as far as I know!)

From samer:

Vita Brevis writes a special comment about Obama's grandma.

From be the change you seek:

A big tent has its advantages, but it can have its limits, too, as bindle  tells us in a reply to housesella!

This is my second nomination tonight and it's very different from the first. Nyceve's profound diary on difficult end-of-life choices has garnered many profound comments. Here is one of them, from DallasDoc!

Actually, can I go ahead and nominate the entire diary & its comments. Even better, can I respectfully suggest that somebody front page this diary? Thanks.

From SarahLee:

Jotter on discovering that some folks snuck in and had a party in his house while he is at work.
(Also submitted by va dare, and just as appreciated!)

From Land of Enchantment:

From today's celebration of Jotter Appreciation Day entry today.  peace voter found one of the best YouTube song videos ever.  If you've not done so yet, please stop by to Rec the diary and his tip jar, too.  (I linked to the "view without comments" version of the diary cuz of all the bandwidth of songs for the party.)  Plus Ellicat's testimonial about meeting jotter at Yearly Kos in Chicago last summer is fabulous.  (Even ct and kos left comments...)

From greenchiledem:

Mike the Liberal had a great comment when referring to the 4 senators that did not support the CNMI reform legislation diaried by Dengre in  NEWS FLASH: CNMI Legislation Passes Senate. Very funny and not far off since the actual Nay Four were Coburn (R-OK), DeMint (R-SC), Inhofe (R-OK), Vitter (R-LA).

From noddem:

I have no further comment on clonecone's sumptuous recipe.

Top Mojo - excluding search-identifiable tip jars and first diary comments (top 22 tonight of each plus ties):

1 THANKS ! - Best, BW by Troutfishing - 179
2 No, more like concentration of wealth and power by iconoclastic cat - 157
3 sick fucks by miasmo - 122
4 The only mandate that works:  Taxes by Dallasdoc - 121
5 Willfully violating Nuremberg standards by xrepub - 120
6 Did you even read the diary ? by BenjaminOMeara - 114
7 We appreciate by kestrel9000 - 107
8 the idea that ASHCROFT was the by agnostic - 105
9 overpopulation and overconsumption. by G2geek - 96
10 antidote to gloom by CocoaLove - 95
11 Tar and Feather - with time in public stocks by xrepub - 91
12 financial panics by Jerome a Paris - 88
13 Here's an idea! by leftyboy666 - 85
14 "a big fan of accessories.  I'm married to one" by Mother of Zeus - 84
15 God bless you, n/t by Little Flower - 80
16 This quote is what he says a lot by Shhs - 78
17 It started out as normal weekday ... by jotter - 75
18 We tell the truth. Single payer is the solution. by FishOutofWater - 74
19 Happy Jotter Appreciation Day!!! by sheddhead - 71
20 REC LIST!!! by noweasels - 68
21 He earned mine too. by Robinswing - 68
22 Thanks for doing this, jotter! by Floja Roja - 66
23 mmm...thread... by voila - 66
24 My early candidate was Hillary by Dont Just Stand There - 66
25 Tradition in Lakota Country by SarahLee - 65
26 WE INTERRUPT YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED COMMENTS... by PBen - 65
27 Yea! Jotter by donnamarie - 63
28 Good Morning Jotter by Eddie C - 62
29 Powell is a good soldier by RudiB - 62
30 I was told by Rachel that they could only by speck tater - 62

Top Mojo - everything included:

1 Tips for impeachment now? by Red no more - 662
2 Tips for Obama making friends in tough places. by speck tater - 527
3 tips and chips by Janeo - 468
4 Tip Jar by sheddhead - 467
5 Tip Jar - 9 April by Jerome a Paris - 413
6 tip jar by jotter - 404
7 Sometimes... by eugene - 368
8 Oh, Bob Schaffer is in a bit of trouble by dengre - 328
9 Just thought I'd play potential counterpoint... by JeffLieber - 323
10 Tip jar by bluestatemeant - 238
11 Impeach, Indict, Convict, Imprison, Extradite eom by greenskeeper - 222
12 Front Page this! by Pragmaticus - 211
13 THANKS ! - Best, BW by Troutfishing - 179
14 No, more like concentration of wealth and power by iconoclastic cat - 157
15 I wonder when our "MBA" President will figure by testvet6778 - 132
16 sick fucks by miasmo - 122
17 The only mandate that works:  Taxes by Dallasdoc - 121
18 Willfully violating Nuremberg standards by xrepub - 120
19 Did you even read the diary ? by BenjaminOMeara - 114
20 We appreciate by kestrel9000 - 107
21 tips, comments by Sven at My Silver State - 107
22 the idea that ASHCROFT was the by agnostic - 105
23 tip jar by ApacheTrout - 102
24 Truly terrifying. nt by iconoclastic cat - 99
25 overpopulation and overconsumption. by G2geek - 96
26 antidote to gloom by CocoaLove - 95
27 Cheers to you all... by Dania Audax - 91
28 Tar and Feather - with time in public stocks by xrepub - 91
29 It's never a good sign... by wiscmass - 89
30 financial panics by Jerome a Paris - 88