letter from the editor: April '05.(Editorial)

The Worst Best

spent a week at a spa in Mexico that had a strict no-vice policy. Sugar, salt, caffeine, and alcohol were all forbidden, but childish antics were not. To prove it, a group of us rehearsed and performed the moves to Michael Jackson's "Beat It" video at dinner one night. All anyone would talk about on the hikes, by the pool, in the sauna were French fries and cake. Bill Murray, the actor, had a room overlooking the running track, and when the power walkers passed by, he stuck his head out the window and played the devil. "I have margaritas," he hissed. "With salt."

Even though we'd paid to be deprived, we still felt like prisoners hell-bent on beating the system. Wednesday night was bingo night, and as we quickly learned, bingo meant

popcorn, bowls and bowls of popcorn. We played bingo like white-haired ladies in a church basement, eating handfuls of those air-popped, saltless, squeaky kernels. One night, a

few guests broke out of the spa and, while the rest of us listened to a lecture on good versus bad cholesterol, downed Tecate with salty chips at a local bar.

By the end of the stay, my cravings actually began to subside. I found I could get through the day quite well without two doses of chocolate and could ...