Every time I look at this photograph I am automatically drawn to the woman to the right of the tee...I want to roll down the hill with her!
Tom,
Ok...now I
know you've definitely been spending too much time researching this stuff!!!
It reminds me of a story a Mormon friend of mine told me once. He lived in Salt Lake City, but having grown up in the Los Angeles area he was a bit more worldly and saltier than many of the other folks from that faith I met back then.
Evidently, at the age of maturity (around 18) Mormons go on what is known as "Mission", where they are sent by church elders to various parts of the globe to try to spread the word of their church, do good deeds, and convert the locals. My understanding is that there is a lot of political maneuvering in this process, with well-connected parishoners being sent to Mission in Paris, or London, while others not so fortunate might end up in Uganda, for instance.
Anyway, this friend of mine Steve, quite the handsome chap, gets sent to southern Chile. That doesn't sound so bad on the face of it, but evidently it's close to Antarctica, extremely bitter cold, and quite mountainous.
The women, more akin to our native Eskimo women in look, are valued for their size and strength, and have tough, leathery skin from days trying to move oxen ploughing the fields in the short growing season through bitter winds and high elevation direct sun. They also tend to be on the...voluminous side.
Well, our friend Steve had been in Chile for about six months, during which time, consistent with his mission, was unable to contact the outside world except through hand-written letters; no computer, no phone, no female accompaniement.
So, one day, as Steve related it to me, he's sitting writing a letter watching some of the local women (known as Mamasans) in their big woolen coats and babushkas tending the field.
And, as nature is wont to do, a familiar stirring begins, and he thinks to himself, "you know, they're not so bad".....
