At 12:04 12/3/99 , Davidson wrote:
>It's really comical and ridiculous how far westerners will go to avoid
>squatting or leaning up against a tree!

I agree the item in question is comical...but having been in an environment
with squat toilets, and having watched Singaporeans squat flatfooted* -- my
western feet don't bend that way.  My CG is way aft of the support, and I
fall over backwards.  I can squat on the balls of my feet, but that's not a
stable position.  I rather think it's one of those things you have to start
while your bones are still soft.

david

*no, actually not in toilets.  They squat happily on the street or wherever
we would use a folding chair, so my research did not involve peeping.  And
in fact Singapore has enough western toilets to go around -- though when I
was there ('85) every Singaporean carried a pocket-size packet of Kleenex
(or equivalent), and I was warned to do so by my hosts.  *Courtesy is in us
-- let us show it*  *Help stamp out the evils of glue-sniffing*  *Stop
killer litter* (flowerpots and stuff dropped from apartment balconies)
David Beierl - Providence, RI
  http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"