Subscribing to a theory

• National Geographic World
This was my first magazine, a Christmas gift from some farflung relative. The first copy I got in the mail had a very young Dorothy Hammill ice-skating on the cover. It had beautiful pictures and interesting stories.

• Boys Life
My uncle bought me a subscription to this mag “for all boys” for a few years. It is published by the Boy Scouts of America and covers all sorts of topics. Its editorial offices are based not too far from here, and I applied (too late) for a writing job there not too long ago.

• Popular Science
Nothing fuels a young boy’s imagination quite like gadgetry and technology and lofty talk about the future.

• Road & Track
Most boys (at least the one I was and the ones I know) are wired specifically to seek out fun (sometimes at the risk of stupidity or bodily harm). There is also some wiring that pushes us toward anything with wheels – exemplified by my 2 and 1/2-year old son’s love of toy cars, big cars, trucks, bicycles, motorcycles, etc. I used to dream about the exotic lovelies that cost a king’s ransom. Now all I want is a decent station wagon ... oh, how times have changed. And yet how they stay the same. I'm still wired for fun.

• Autoweek
I loved the in-the-know aspect of this mag, with its automobile trade secrets and previews of the coolest new models before they hit the streets. As a one-time aspiring automotive designer, it was a weekly fix.

• Newsweek
Not only did I subscribe at the “professional courtesy rate” of $10 a year, I enjoyed the news analysis. But after awhile, and working as a journalist myself, I realized that not all news is local but most of what we care about is. The shorter articles were great for reading while on the can, though.

• National Geographic
I didn’t subscribe to this magazine for long, but thanks to my grandmother’s attic full of back issues, the sharp photography and lyrical writing about places I’ll never go continues to capture my imagination. My favorite issue is one that’s about 40 years old and features an article with photos of the tiny Virginia island my grandmother lived on for most of her life.

• Playboy
I read it for the cartoons, but yes, I looked at the pictures. I made a decision right before I got married that my wife would be the only “sex object” in my house, canceling my subscription and putting my collection at the curb. Hope the trash men enjoyed them. Haven’t looked back since. It is a struggle, but living a Christian life means turning – or trying to turn – from the things you know are wrong. Three-dimensional women with their clothes on are much more fun anyhow.

• This Old House
I still subscribe to this magazine for its reviews of new products, articles on improving homes old and new, and just because it’s a great read. Still can’t fathom spending $60,000 to redo a kitchen, but we all can dare to dream a little.

• Runners’ World
I didn’t subscribe for long because I don’t care to become a hardcore runner. I enjoy the feeling I get from a nice morning jaunt, and it is a great way to lose weight. But how much information do I need to get rightfootleftfootrightfootleftfoot down to an art?

• Bicycling
Published by the same company as Runners’ World, I love this mag because it’s not just for gearheads in florescent jersies, wearing pointy helmets and straddling $8,000 bicycles. There are beautifully written and photographed essays about and by “normal people” like me who love to bike but have lives beyond the saddle. I love the BikeTown project that gives bikes to some of those normal people and keeps tabs on them to see how it has changed their lives (usually for the better). I’ve always been an “avid” bicyclist, but have never ventured into that creepy need for speed I see so often. The last bike I bought cost me $500 and was purchased about 10 years ago, and it’s all I really need.

To any other mags I’ve loved but can’t remember, sorry! After all, magazines provide an immediacy and a temporary, timely burst of information that sometimes isn’t relevant the next month (I’d say that This Old House is hard to throw away because of its great advice, and those years I collected Playboy it was obvious that the women were still nekkid the next month). My current subs to This Old House and Bicycling are ones I enjoy, but there could come a time I tire of them. Time is a factor, for sure. There comes a time when it's best to actually swing a hammer or frantically pedal up that hill.

What do you subscribe to?