AUTHOR: Sheri Lynch TITLE: The ring! The hoodia! DATE: 6/26/2006 01:27:00 PM ----- BODY:

Time for an update on some FAQ's... If you were listening during the Christmas holidays, you might have heard the story of the guy with the diamond ring. I bumped into him in the lobby as he was dropping off a wrapped gift. "That's her right there," the security guard said. The gift guy turned around with a panicked look on his face. I shook the guy's hand as he practically bolted out the door. Weird, I thought. Usually they don't run away like that unless we used to date or something. Inside the gift bag was an envelope and a small package. Inside the package was a gorgeous diamond and platinum ring. Inside the envelope was a letter, describing how the only woman he'd ever loved had refused his marriage proposal. Would we take the ring and give it to charity? I admit: the first charity that came to mind was myself. The ring was so beautiful -- it was something I would definitely have chosen. The temptation to keep it lasted maybe ten seconds -- ten long, tantalizing seconds of pure moral jeopardy. I tried it on, admired it, and then gave it to our general manager to lock up in his safe. We waited over six months for the ring's owner to change his mind and return to claim it. He never did. So, last week, we donated the ring to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. If you know the man who brought the ring to us -- or if you are that man, thank you. Your generosity will help grant the wish of a seriously, maybe even terminally, ill child. That's an awful lot of good to come from one broken heart. Onto a much less emotional subject - hoodia. Hoodia is derived from a cactus plant eaten by the Kalahari Bushmen for stamina. It allegedly also suppresses the appetite, enabling the Bushmen to spend long periods of time hunting without eating. Lesley Stahl did a piece on it for "60 Minutes". In a weak moment, I ordered a bottle from an ad I saw in USA Today. That was nearly two months ago, I think. I've had lots of e-mail asking whether or not it works. The stamina part is hard to measure. I'm so sleep deprived that I'm not sure if anything other than straight caffeine could give me a boost. I do feel a little less weepy by the end of the day, which has to count for something. Probably not enough to earn me a spot on the Kalahari hunting team, but as far as losing my appetite goes, I'm right up there with the Bushmen. There are days when I have to force myself to eat something for dinner -- I have zero interest. This is radically atypical for me -- I have to be sick to skip a meal. But even after a run, I just really don't feel like eating. Since I don't weigh myself, I can't tell you whether or not I've lost any weight with hoodia. (I don't know why anyone steps on a scale -- isn't there enough bad news in the world to cope with?) My clothes fit differently, so I've probably at least moved some flesh around. So who knows? It seems like it works. I'll tell you one thing that kind of ticks me off. Here I am, running, eating right, not snacking, and now swallowing some freaky powdered cactus extract and I still don't look like a lanky gazelle. Genetics! Damn my meatball-making ancestors and their sturdy peasant physiques!

--------