2008 Woodie Awards
Because I Loved Her
Kate Betteridge
Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: Visions and Voices
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I saw it before everyone else. I could see it in the every day.
I observed it even before I knew what it was - first in the bakery we went to every morning before classes to grab the croissants and Moroccan coffee we had shared for years. Yet today, the cashier rang up only one pastry.
"Don't you want one?" I asked.
"Nope - I'm trying to be healthy, y'know? And they don't have a sign."
"What sign?"
"Apparently NYC is going to ban trans-fats. Trans-fats are the ones that stay in your bodies permanently - your body can't ever metabolize them. They stay in your cell membranes hardening your arteries until you die. All the food servers in NYC have to get rid of them by 2008, and the ones that have already need to put up signs to alert that they have." She took a sip of the coffee
"I see." I nodded, comprehending - the idea of fat staying in your body permanently was pretty creepy. I still ate the croissant though.
I noticed it when she stopped going to track.
"But I thought you loved to run!" I exclaimed.
"I'm taking up yoga. Junior year is so stressful - I need something to relax with. Besides, I've been running on hard surfaces for years and my shin-splints have been acting up - they're no joke you know. They hurt, but it's actually the muscle connecting the tibia and fibula - it gets inflamed. Bone splinters have nothing to do with it at all."
For the moment, it satisfied me. Only later did I find out that her worried coach had confronted her - and asked her to leave the team.
I saw it when she was in the line at the cafeteria. She would berate the quality of Taylor Dining Hall and move onto the salad bar, barely dressing her naked plate with lettuce, carrots, celery and a touch of balsamic.
"Have you tried the new Asian ginger chicken salad?" I inquired.
"No, the last time I got chicken from that line I threw up. Besides, they use spinach. Did you know that half of all the restaurants in the country don't wash their vegetables before they put them out? I hope this school washes their vegetables - the pesticides when left on can cause poisoning and crying fits." She sprinkled a few sunflower seeds on the plate of emptiness.
I observed it even before I knew what it was - first in the bakery we went to every morning before classes to grab the croissants and Moroccan coffee we had shared for years. Yet today, the cashier rang up only one pastry.
"Don't you want one?" I asked.
"Nope - I'm trying to be healthy, y'know? And they don't have a sign."
"What sign?"
"Apparently NYC is going to ban trans-fats. Trans-fats are the ones that stay in your bodies permanently - your body can't ever metabolize them. They stay in your cell membranes hardening your arteries until you die. All the food servers in NYC have to get rid of them by 2008, and the ones that have already need to put up signs to alert that they have." She took a sip of the coffee
"I see." I nodded, comprehending - the idea of fat staying in your body permanently was pretty creepy. I still ate the croissant though.
I noticed it when she stopped going to track.
"But I thought you loved to run!" I exclaimed.
"I'm taking up yoga. Junior year is so stressful - I need something to relax with. Besides, I've been running on hard surfaces for years and my shin-splints have been acting up - they're no joke you know. They hurt, but it's actually the muscle connecting the tibia and fibula - it gets inflamed. Bone splinters have nothing to do with it at all."
For the moment, it satisfied me. Only later did I find out that her worried coach had confronted her - and asked her to leave the team.
I saw it when she was in the line at the cafeteria. She would berate the quality of Taylor Dining Hall and move onto the salad bar, barely dressing her naked plate with lettuce, carrots, celery and a touch of balsamic.
"Have you tried the new Asian ginger chicken salad?" I inquired.
"No, the last time I got chicken from that line I threw up. Besides, they use spinach. Did you know that half of all the restaurants in the country don't wash their vegetables before they put them out? I hope this school washes their vegetables - the pesticides when left on can cause poisoning and crying fits." She sprinkled a few sunflower seeds on the plate of emptiness.
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