May 2008
Behind the Scene
By Randy Limbird A couple months ago I wrote about how I had taken up bicycling and had lost a few pounds until my eating caught up with my riding. This month my wife, Cindy, and I decided to diet together, and now the pounds are disappearing. So far I’ve lost about a total of 25 pounds since last year, which makes this about the third time in my life I’ve managed to lose that amount. Needless to say, the other two times I gained it back with interest. So we’ll see if the third time is indeed the charm. One of the advantages of writing about my life in a public forum is that it gives me some incentive to keep my resolutions!
My first major diet was when I was a roly-poly high school sophomore. One upperclassman called me “Dot” because I was so short and round. I lost 25 pounds and grew about three inches that year, enough to dump the “Dot” nickname. Needless to say, my social life improved in other ways (“Dot” and dating did dot well together).
As I recall, my success 40 years ago was an all-liquid diet. It took about two years or so before I was back to my original weight.
The Atkins Diet was my second major success, about a decade later. I dined on salami and Swiss cheese while avoiding all carbohydrates. A dreadful diet healthwise, but the weight again came off. A few years later, all those 25 pounds had come back home, with at least 10 more of their friends.
This time the formula has been a combination of increasing exercise and cutting back on the calories. Cindy and I have a blended meal-substitution drink most evenings instead of dinner, and we stopped nearly all snacking.
This time my goal is to reach a new low (about 10 more pounds), and reward myself with a new bicycle. I ride a 20-year-old bike that weighs about 30 pounds, nearly twice as much as newer road bikes. But I can’t justify spending money on a fancy bike if I still carry around weight that I can lose for free!
Losing weight feels a bit like time travel. I remember what I weighed at various stages in my life, so memories come back every time I reach a new number on the scales. Right now I’m back in college. Hopefully by next month I’ll be back in high school!
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I know it’s tacky to make fun of another newspaper, but I can’t wait until our January “Gecko Awards” to bring this up. The El Paso Times trimmed one inch off the width of their paper beginning April 29, and said they were doing it in the name of environmentalism. “Going green” was their advertising slogan.
As a veteran of the newspaper business, I guarantee that the only green motivating the change is the color of the dollars they will save. Newsprint prices have soared this past year, and trimming the size of the paper is an obvious way to cut costs.
We’re cutting back on circulation about 5 percent to cope with these costs. That still leaves us with 38,000 copies to hand out each month. But at least we will spare you the talk saving trees.
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We will, however, put the ax to another tree (just a small one!) this month. Look for our second annual “Summer Fun Guide” special section to come out May 14, available at most of our rack locations around the city.
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Thanks go to Melinda Etzold for providing this month’s cover artwork. She was one of the artists in April’s successful El Paso Artists Studio Tour.El Paso Scene MONTHLY
This month's listings, stories and columnsFeature story
Roundup
Music
Dance
Here's the Ticket
Program Notes
On Stage
Sports
Southwest Art Scene
At the Museum
History Lessons
Nature
Film Scene
Keep on Bookin'
Becoming Bicultural
Liner Notes
Stage Talk
Gallery Talk
Better ParentingCopyright 2008 by Cristo Rey Communications.