The Fat Sisters

My mom has this gang of friends who call themselves the Fat Sisters. They came together in the 1960's in Roanoke, VA. They also have called themselves the Happy Home Harmonizers, which made for a great sign on the side of the van on one of their annual trips to Myrtle Beach in the 1970's.

The Fat Sisters include Joan, Jenny, Jackie, June, Carol, Debbie, Mickey and Mary. Their spouses are the Fat Husbands, and their grandchildren are called Grand-Fats. For some reason, the folks at my generation - the children of the Fat Sisters - don't have any special name. Probably because of the trauma of just being children of the Fat Sisters.

The Fat Sisters had the whole "gang of women friends" thing locked down well before the Ya-Yas or the Sweet Potato Queens. I think the youngest Fat Sister is now about 65.

The Fat Sisters have been thrown out of restaurants, are apt to laugh during wedding ceremonies and funerals alike, take naked pictures of each other purely to embarass each other, and get lost during road trips.

And, for the record, not all of the Fat Sisters are fat. In fact, the smallest one (who is quite thin), is referred to as a Step-Sister.