By James Van Nuys
“Blessed are the thin, for they shall inherit the beach.”
It was becoming increasingly evident that I was not thin. The publishers of Black Hills FACES had tried to be nice about it, but they had informed me that the magazine wanted its staff to project an image of youth, health, and vitality. “We realize,” the memo said, “that there is not much you can do about the youth problem, but we feel it’s only fair to notify you that we have interviewed several art directors for whom physical fitness is, perhaps, more of a priority than it is in your case. We have made no decision as yet, and trust that this situation can be resolved in the best interest of all parties.”
I understood corporate-speak well enough to interpret this as: “Lose weight or lose your job,” and in this economy I wasn’t about to leave a lucrative position with one of the nation’s most successful publications without a fight. It was D-Day; the big “D” had to start immediately. Not tomorrow–today.
(Read the rest of this story in FACES Fall ‘09)
