OPINION
THE MESA TRIBUNE | APRIL 24, 2022
25
Share Your Thoughts:
Send your letters on local issues to: pmaryniak@timespublications.com TheMesaTribune.com
|
@EVTNow
/EVTNow
I’m feeling the buzz with my trendy scalp BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist
L
et the record show that in mid-April 2022, I became incredibly hip according to the style gods at the New York Times. My secret? The shaved head I have been sporting since I lost a bet in 1999. In a story headlined, “Shaved Heads Have People Buzzing,” Times fashion and beauty scribe Kristen Bateman declared, “There’s plenty of evidence that the shaved head is the first trendy cut of 2022.” It’s about damn time you people – of all conceivable pronouns – finally caught up with yours truly. The Times story focuses mostly on women who have opted for the clippers set to stubble, including my fellow style icon, 29-year-old Rita Melssen, who “shaved her head on a whim and now changes the color from icy white to light
pink as it grows out.” Me, I prefer a natural salt-and-pepper hue, kept baby soft with some Head and Shoulders. “I walk through the world very differently with a shaved head as opposed to a head of long curly hair like I had before,” says Melssen. “I feel more powerful and graceful. There is a purity and a fierceness to it. It’s like I am peeling back a layer so that you can see a deeper part of me.” Exactly! I, too, am like an onion, constantly peeling and evolving, revealing new and previously hidden depths. Also, the guys at the Russian barbershop over on Camelback Road can knock out my haircut in 12 minutes, leaving extra time for me to work on my power and grace. I’m not kidding about having lost a bet and paying with my hair. I was hosting a radio show on KTAR in January 1999 when my alma mater, Florida State, came to town to play in the Fiesta Bowl for the college football national
championship. I felt so confident the Seminoles would beat Tennessee, I bet a caller “if FSU loses, I’ll get my head shaved right here on the air.” Yes, it was a jinx. Yes, Tennessee won 2316. Yes, I paid up. Back then, Mesa was home to a seminotorious hair stylist, Kat Gallant, who cut hair in lingerie and ran for governor unsuccessfully in 1998. Kat shaved my head on air. I’ve never grown it out, maybe because I agree with recent crewcut convert Joseph Charles Viola, who told the Times, “Life was weighing me down, and I thought my hair could take some of that weight off for a bit.” You said it, Joseph Charles. I feel positively spritely every couple of weeks after a trip to the barber. Even more so after he kneads my shoulders for 30 seconds with that electric sander/jackhammer thingy. The Times story reports that a shaved noggin “has history, with roots in mourn-
ing, religion, rebellion and even ostracism. That history is also what makes the cut empowering and provoking all at once.” As an added bonus, my ex-girlfriend told me, “I think that short hair makes your nose look smaller.” All male cis-gender kidding aside, a shaved head is worlds easier to manage than my old daily ritual involving a blow dryer and a dab of styling gel. My hair used to take five minutes a day. That’s 30 hours a year and when I was done, I still looked like a schlub with a side part. Nowadays, my hair takes 11 seconds to style with a towel – and I’m a trendsetter. Getting a buzzcut may not have meant as much to me as it did to Camille Rogers, but I cannot disagree. “Every time I shave my head, I feel like a weight has been lifted,” reports Rogers. “A new wave of confidence washes over me because I feel like a badass when I’m bald.” ■
Waste Day on April 27. Here are some simple ways Waste Not suggests that every household can use to cut back on food waste: • Plan your meals and buy groceries accordingly! Don’t buy perishable things you don’t have scheduled to eat that week – even if they’re on sale. Stick to your shopping list. Take a quick inventory of your pantry and fridge before you head to the store so you don’t make the mistake of duplicating items you already have. • Use clear food storage containers in your fridge so that you can actually see what leftovers are waiting to be eaten. Try to put the things that need to be eaten first at eye level. Factor using dinner leftovers for lunches into your meal plan.
• Control your portions. Take a smaller portion to start with and go back for seconds if you’re still hungry. Extras then become left-overs instead you can store or freeze instead of waste that’s scraped off plates into the trash. If you have extras you don’t plan to eat soon, freeze them in a reusable container and label with a description and date so you remember to use it for a future meal. • Choose one dinner each week as a “use-it-up” meal. Check your fridge and cupboards for leftover ingredients that can be turned into tasty meals. There are even free apps that can help you come up with ideas based on your list of ingredients. • Understand food product dates. Con-
fusion over them account for about 20 % of consumer food waste. “Best if Used By” is a standard phrase manufacturers use to indicate when a product will be at its best flavor and quality – but the product is still safe to consume after that date. “Use Buy” is generally reserved for things that are highly perishable or have food safety concerns over time. Hilary Bryant is executive director of Waste Not, a nonprofit that for 35 years, has been matching nutritious prepared and perishable foods from local food business like caterers, resorts and event foodservice that would otherwise go to landfills with nonprofits that feed people in need of food. Last year, Waste Not rescued nearly 3.5 million meals. ■
April 27 is Stop Food Waste Day
BY HILLARY BRYANT Tribune Guest Writer
F
ood takes up more space in U.S. landfills than anything else. Waste Not’s primary mission is to reduce food waste from local businesses and use this rescued food to feed people in need. But we also care about the impact of home food waste on our environment and household food budgets. The average American family of four throws out $1,600 each year in produce alone and 43% of annual food waste happens right at home. As we celebrate Earth Day and strive to be better stewards of our resources, let’s all pledge to participate in Stop Food
Share Your Thoughts: Send your letters on local issues to: pmaryniak@timespublications.com
