Hi, I’m Jerry O’Connell.

But you all know me as the fat kid from Stand By Me.

No not the pie barfing one. The other one.

That’s the one. That chubby bugger is me.

 As the fat kid from Stand By Me Johnny Creepshow has asked me to come on here today and relay an important message to my fellow Americans. It would appear that we’re becoming quite the pants loads.

For those of you with digits to lard laden to click on the link or for those of you that can’t stop picturing the McRib long enough to read the article, allow me to give you the gist of it. This month a study was released highlighting America’s downward spiral into obesity in the past 20 years. In 1991 there was not a single state with an obesity rate over 20%. Now more than two-thirds of our united states are at rates above 25 percent. In a chocolate covered deep fried nutshell America is just getting fatter and fatter.

It no doubt cost several million dollars for a team of scientists to bring you this information.

Even though this team could have told you for minimum wage and a promise not to be scheduled this Saturday.

Now you can point your dialing wand at all sorts of reasons for this unprecedented blimp-out. Big business’ control over the country’s food sources, the lack of nutritional standards in school cafeterias, the existence of fried cola. I’m no dietitian or socio-economical expert; I’m the fat kid from Stand By Me. So I’m not going to get into it. Besides, I’m too busy being amused by the fact that a large percentage of my countrymen now resemble what was once a sideshow attraction.

This is Chauncey Morlan. 100 years ago he was considered so fat that people would pay money just to look at him.

Here’s a collection of pictures taken from the first page of a Google Image search for typical American:

Wow! Don’t go asking Madam Ruby to rub her crystal ball and send you into the future Chauncy. You’ll be out of a job.

Actually that’s not true. You can still be a cop.

But here’s what really worries me about America. If these rates continue to rise, we are in serious danger of becoming uncool. There was a time when America set the standard for cool. Remember these guys?

But how is America going to remain cool when we’re all fat? The fat kid is never cool. That’s one thing a lifetime of appearing in bad movies and sitcoms has taught me. Sure you might get to make out with the occasional hot drunk chick in the end or smirk at Chad the bully when he crashes his hot rod or falls in the mud but cool? No. No way. Vern Tessio was never cool. You don’t even know who that is do you? That was the name of the fat kid from Stand By Me!

See. Not cool.

But worry not my beefy patriots. The unfathomable wealth I obtained from playing coked up cans hound Joe Francis Derrick Jones in Piranha 3D last year has given me a lot of free time. And I decided to spend some of it researching ways in which fat Americans can still be cool.

Become a chef.

In the world of culinary arts fat equals experience. People look at a fat chef and think Hmm, he must know what he’s doing. Look at the size of him. Get yourself some funky glasses and a few tattoos and you could be the next Graham Elliot.

Become a Gangster Rapper.



Some of the coolest guys in the rap business are also the fattest.

There’s Big Pun.

Fat Joe.

Notorious B.I.G.

And let’s not forget Heavy D.

And the best part about being a fat rapper is that you don’t even have to worry about the long term effects of your obesity because you’re probably just going to get shotanyways. So all you need to do is brush up on your rhymes, choose a name that lets people no your fat and hit the buffet.



Become a wrestler.

In the world of professional wrestling there are two types of wrestler. Big oiled up muscle hunks.

And human oddities.

(Try to guess which is which.)

And you don’t even have to be that freaky to be a wrestler. Hell the Earthquake was just a fat guy in a unitard.

All you really need is a gimmick. And it doesn’t even need to be a clever gimmick. Jake the Snake Roberts just had a snake.

Oh and you ladies out there, don’t think you can’t get in on this too. Women in wrestling are becoming more and more popular. Just choose a persona and get to body slamming. Here I’ll even help you out. From the deepest dankest shag carpeted trailer in Florida comes…

TheMiss Real America!

Her finishing move could be to pick up her scrawny, emasculated husband/manger and hit her opponent with him. Or better yet she could use one of her kids.

Become a biker.

Bikers have always been synonymous with cool. Think Sonny Barger or Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider.

And one of the best parts about being a biker is that you’re an outlaw, a social misfit. That’s right, you can be as hairy or as dirty or, yes, even as fat as you like.

Try telling these guys to do the truffle shuffle.

And before McDonald’s insured America that a 1,000 calorie lunch is only a short breathless shuffle in any direction to the nearest corner the only way to truly top up your grease traps was to hit the open road.

You could be sitting in a McDinning room right now. Leaning over a 20 piece nuggets and hoping that the aroma of sweet and sour sauce can overpower the acrid stench of pee wafting from the play room ball pitlong enough for you to choke them down. Or you could be out on the open road, perched atop a Harley.Your old lady wraps her arms around your biker gut and squeezes tight and you belch and re-chew a mouthful of chili and heavenly hot dog meat.

Now that’s America.

Oops, you caught me doing a little research for Stand By Me 2.

Well that’s ok. I’m not ashamed of being known as the fat kid from Stand By Me. At least it keeps people from remembering My Secret Identity.





Keeping up with the Shitheads.

Once upon a time getting a tattoo branded you an outcast.

You had to be a sailor, a biker, an outlaw or an ex-con to sport one.

You were tough and dangerous and your tattoo was a warning sign to the squares to keep their distance. But nowadays everyone is getting them. Your mom has just discovered a more fitting eulogy for little Pablo Escobark then a shoe box in the yard after watching a Miami Ink marathon on TLC.

Your dad loves those Ed Hardy briefs he got for Christmas so much that he’s decided he wants a permanent pair

Your older brother’s 90s tribal tattoos are fading in the sun as he pushes a stroller down the street.

(These are the human equivalent of racing stripes for your car.)

And your sister and her friends all got matching tattoos to remember that great night they had together during reading week last year.

(This is the combined equivalent of Ugg boots and Jagger shots.)

You see? Tattoos at best have become the replacement for hair plugs for mid-life crisis men in their 40s.

And at worst an everlasting testament to just how dumb/drunk/high someone can get.

So what is a young reprobate to do these days if he or she wishes to freak out the man? Here’s a few ideas to get you started.

Change your name to something offensive.

Lots of people seem to be getting their names changed to something stupid. A man in Carlisle changed his name from Richard Smith to Stormhammer Deathclaw Firebrand. and a teenager in Glastonbury has had his name changed to  Captain Fantastic Faster than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine The Hulk and the Flash combined So think along those lines but more shocking (Ok, maybe not that shocking). Might I suggest changing your name to Fuck You or Vainy Boner or Shithead. Think of all the street cred. you’ll get when people ask you your name and you reply, Fuck You and pull out your ID to prove it. Think of how pissed off your dad will be when he has to introduce you to his boss and you shake the bosses hand vigorously and say Vainy Boner, pleased to meet you. And as for the last one, you wouldn’t even have to tell people your name. You could just get this hat and point to it like Prince.

Start crossdressing (this one’s for the homies).

This will let people know that you’re most likely mentally unstable and it will force them to think about all the weird sexual things you’re into. They might not think you’re tough or dangerous but they’ll definitely keep their distance.

Stop bathing (this one’s for the fly girls).

Women hate gender stereotypes and are always trying to prove that they can be just one of the guys.



Well one of those stereotypes is that women are always clean and sweet smelling where as most guys are slobs. Well if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em ladies. Stop bathing and become a bum. Now when I say bum I don’t mean a homeless person. Society expects them to be filthy. I just mean stop washing yourself or your clothes. You still go to work, hit the starbucks and go out with your friends on week ends. If anyone asks you why you smell so bad or why you don’t take a shower just tell them that you’re too cool for that. Or say, Fuck you and your system!

Change your race.

Everyone remembers that kid in school that went away for the summer and came back with plaid pants and a Mohawk. Hell, I think Spike Lee even made a movie about it.

That might have been considered crazy 20 years ago but not now. These days people are giving their babies Mohawks. You’re not a baby are you?

Instead go away for the summer and come back as Spike Lee. That would really freak people out. I could get into the long winded explanation of how you go about doing this but it’s a lot easier and more fun if you just rent Soul Man.





And don’t think you brothers and sisters can’t get in on the act. Remember Michael Jackson?

Of course I remember him. Check out my new tattoo bro!