FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2017
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion / Politics
So I was
thinking ...
— Letters to the Editor —
Practice what you preach
Carrying
the weight
By Jimmy Ingram
Special to The Baker County Press
I usually don’t like to get personal
with these columns, nor do I like them
to be particularly serious. After all,
there’s enough serious in the world as
it is.
But everyone has personal frustra-
tions or even “issues” if you will, that
we’re sensitive about.
Here’s mine.
I’ve been a “stocky” guy for the
better part of my life. My youth was
spent fitting awkwardly into clothes
and being one of the slowest kids on
sports teams.
Unfortunately, like many overweight
kids, I was teased about it. I tried to
ignore it (as kids are told to do) but it
was tough to.
Kids don’t deserve to be teased
about anything, but everyone has
experienced it.
Throughout my teenage years I dis-
covered weight-lifting and traded my
awkward adolescent build for that of
an 82 chevy suburban—that is to say,
big, square and blocky.
Being strong was nice, but let’s be
honest, it’s hard to feel good about
yourself buying 38” waist pants and
XXL shirts. Your 400-pound bench
press doesn’t mean much if you run
out of breath walking across the street.
And adult sports are awkward when
you’re big.
Skiing? I felt like a high-speed
wrecking ball. Basketball? The quick-
ness and agility of a tortoise. Golf? I
hope flexibility isn’t required. Hiking?
Do the stairs in my home count as a
hike?
So one day I decided there needed
to be less of me—somehow. And
what better way than the one thing
I’d always dreaded the most: running.
After all, if I hated it so much it must
be good for me, right?
So I ran. I ate salad. I choked down
dry chicken and egg whites. I was
determined.
Well, I sort of ran. More like lum-
bered.
But after several months of run-
ning and eating right, not only had I
dropped weight, I was lighter, quicker,
and felt better. It was a win/win/win
situation (apart from the actual run-
ning, which I still loathed).
But I did it anyway.
After a year of running 150+ miles
a month, my once blocky 245-pound
frame was down to 170 pounds. It was
the least I had weighed since I was
probably 10 years old, and it took me
until I was 30. I felt like I’d earned it.
I felt good.
I was able to continue this pattern
for several years until—cue the Jaws
music—I got married and had kids.
Funny thing about having a fam-
ily—all the time you previously spent
outside your job focusing on whatev-
er-the-hell-you-like just disappears.
The excuses start to flow like water in
the spring.
“I’m too busy to exercise.”
“I don’t have time to cook, we’ll just
eat out.”
“I’m a 38 year-old dad, who cares?”
So like many other people in the
world I found myself putting on
weight and shrugging it off, particu-
larly because of my heavy-set past.
I still thought of myself as the “big
guy.” You know, the one who friends
call when they need help moving
things like pianos or pool tables. The
guy who could single-handedly put
“all-you-can-eat” buffets out of busi-
ness.
I continued to be painfully aware of
my weight gain, but made only half-
hearted attempts to stop it.
Submitted Photo
Jimmy Ingram is a local farmer and
father of two who enjoys people
watching within our wonderful
community and beyond.
“I weighed this much in college,”
I’d say to myself. No big deal. And
then Thanksgiving of 2016 rolled
around. I stepped on the scales and
weighed 250 pounds, which meant I
had gained 80 pounds since the day I
got married. 80 pounds.
I had to say it to myself a couple
times to believe it. I had gained the
weight of my five year-old son and
my two-and-a-half year-old daughter
put together. It was time for a wake-up
call. No more excuses, no more laissez
faire attitude. No more justification.
I’d done this before, I could do it
again.
And so I ran. I ate salad. I choked
down dry chicken and egg whites. I
was determined.
Well, I tried to run. It took a month
or so and it came back slowly, but it
came back. I had to keep in mind that
I am now a 38 year-old man, not the
20-something kid I was years ago. I
knew this would be even more diffi-
cult that it was then.
And it has been.
But as of now I have lost 70 pounds
since last Thanksgiving. The positive
feedback from friends and family has
helped. A regimented, seemingly dra-
conian, low-calorie diet has helped.
Running over 650 miles and wearing
out three pairs of shoes in five months
has helped. But no one can say I didn’t
earn it.
“What do I care?” you might ask.
Maybe you don’t, and that’s fine.
Maybe you’re already in shape, or
perfectly happy with where you are
health-wise. I applaud you.
But maybe you’re one of the mil-
lions of people out there in the world
who is saying to yourself, “I really
need to lose a few pounds” and do
care.
I realize I’m lucky that in terms
of “struggle,” I’ve got it good. Be-
ing overweight is peanuts compared
to what some others deal with in life.
But still, it’s been one of my lifelong
personal struggles.
I’ve felt the embarrassment of buy-
ing 40” cut-to-fit belts that I didn’t
have to cut and I’ve felt the joy of
trimming eight inches of that same
belt.
I’ve made the walk of shame to my
basement to dig out my “fat pants”
and the walk of pride down those
same stairs to dig my “skinny jeans”
out of storage. One feels awful. One
feels like accomplishment. And no one
but me can take it away.
I’m no motivational speaker but I’m
here to tell you this: if you want to
lose weight and get in shape then do
it—now.
It doesn’t take special diet plans,
fitness gadgets, “magical” green diet
shakes, super-foods, pills, or whatever
health-related pyramid marketing
scheme your friends on Facebook are
subtly trying to sell you.
It takes effort, will power, and sup-
port from people around you.
Go for a walk, avoid the big slice of
cake, ditch the soda and drink water.
Get on the scales and be horrified at
what you see. Then pat yourself on the
back a month later when you get on
that same scales and say to yourself,
“Holy (insert expletive)! I’ve lost 12
pounds!”
I’m no better person than anyone
else. But at least now I’m a better ver-
sion of myself. I intend to stay there.
And if you’re still here, still reading,
good luck. No excuses. Get after it.
To the Editor:
Being a citizen and tax-payer in Grant
County, Oregon. I request Ms. Judy
Schuette pay the bill for the time charged
and travel expenses incurred for the Grant
County Attorney to travel to facilitate the
recent hearing called by Brenda Percy re-
garding the Residency of John D. George
of Austin, Oregon.
Ms. Schuette filed a complaint against
Mr. George, (my nephew) and Ms.
Schuette needs to pay this bill not the
citizens of Grant County. Ms. Schuette has
continued to berate and belittle Julie Carr
for her recent attempt to recall Commis-
sioner, Britton so if the shoe fits, maybe
Ms. Schuette should wear it.
Ms. Schuette brought this expense
on the people of Grant County, the cost
should be laid directly at her feet. Be-
cause his Residency was not withdrawn
and there was no need or reason to have
the hearing because Ms. Percy made a
favorable determination earlier on this
exact situation.
I find it sad that the County Court will
not put money toward an investigation
of the Canyon Creek Fire but they will
pay the bill for Ms. Schuette’s complaints
about my nephew, in an obvious attempt
to silence his questioning of the Blue
Mountains Forest Partners and the Grant
County Court.
Anyone want to bet what Ms. Schuett’s
response will be? Only when Julie Carr
pays for the recall? The difference is, 500
plus residents participated in a democratic
process to attempt to remove an ineffec-
tive Commissioner in Mr. Britton. How-
ever, in Ms. Schuette’s case, you have a
vindictive tyrant trying to punish a man
that does nothing more than ask questions
and share information with the people of
Grant County.
The lesson learned here is, if you don’t
go along to get along, be prepared to incur
the wrath of Ms. Judy Schuette, and we
(all the residence of Grant County) get to
pay the bill.
Frances Preston
Prairie City
Politicians applaud
timber tariffs
Reps. Peter DeFazio
(OR-04), Greg Walden
(OR-02), Rick Larsen
(WA-02) and Jaime Her-
rera Beutler (WA-03)
released the following
statement in response to
the Commerce Depart-
ment’s announcement of
preliminary countervailing
duties on softwood lumber
imports from Canada:
“Today’s announcement
from the Commerce De-
partment gives us hope the
U.S. lumber industry may
finally see relief from de-
cades of trade abuses. For
years, American commu-
nities who depend on the
softwood lumber industry
have had their livelihoods
threatened by heavily-sub-
sidized Canadian lumber
increasingly imported into
the U.S.
“Our workers have faced
high unemployment, and
domestic companies have
struggled to compete with
a highly-subsidized Cana-
dian industry. Thanks to a
lack of protection for the
lumber industry, Canadian
softwood lumber now ac-
counts for one-third of the
U.S. market.
“The countervailing du-
ties announced yesterday
will give the U.S. lumber
industry the ability to
invest and grow without
the constraints of unfairly
imported Canadian lumber.
“Since the expiration
of the Softwood Lumber
Trade Agreement in 2015,
we have been fighting
stop the growing influx of
Canadian lumber into our
market.
“Today’s action by the
Commerce Department
confirms what we’ve
known all along—Canadi-
an subsidies have severely
harmed U.S. manufacturers
and workers.
“We applaud these tariffs
as a step in the right direc-
Letter to the Editor Policy: The Baker
County Press reserves the right not to pub-
lish letters containing factual falsehoods or
incoherent narrative. Letters promoting or
detracting from specific for-profit business-
es will not be published. Word limit is 375
words per letter. Letters are limited to one
every other week per author. Letters should
be submitted to Editor@TheBakerCounty-
Press.com.
Advertising and Opinion Page Dis-
claimer: Opinions submitted as Guest
tion, yet remain hopeful
that a new agreement
which allows the U.S. tim-
ber industry to grow and
compete on a level playing
field can be reached.”
In September 2016 Reps.
DeFazio, Walden, Larsen,
and Herrera Beutler,
along with 37 other House
Members sent a letter to
then-United States Trade
Representative Michael
Froman supporting efforts
to negotiate a new Soft-
wood Lumber Agreement
that would put U.S. lumber
on a level playing field.
Since no new agreement
has been reached, the U.S.
lumber industry was forced
to exercise its rights under
U.S. trade laws and file
antidumping and counter-
vailing duties cases against
Canadian lumber in order
to protect American work-
ers, manufacturers, and
communities.
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