< Previous10 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JANuArY 2021 O n Jan. 1 each year, before we sit down to black-eyed peas, cabbage and cornbread, my husband and I partake in another New Year’s ritual. I call it “The Read- ing of the Calendar.” In this ritual, I take an inked-up calendar from the newly old year and recite aloud the highlights — day by day. I also recount to-do lists for that year — goals recorded legibly, opti- mistically for each month. The idea is to see how much we actually got done. My husband approaches this ritual with about as much enthusiasm as someone cleaning out a junk drawer or garage, which are always on the list. But he humors me. It’s futile to resist the list. I’m a firm believer in resolutions and goals, and putting them in writing. For me, lists provide structure and order in a chaotic world. A single list can contain the mundane and the meaningful. Not long ago, I found an old list in an old purse reminding me to buy quinoa and make a living will. The former I achieved, the latter still is pending. My calendar serves as a mini-diary, keeping me honest and accountable. Did I run that half marathon as vowed in 2020? Nope. But I did run 10.5 miles on Jan. 11 — there it is in black and white with a smiley face. Did we exercise at least 300 times this year? Maybe, but I won’t know until Jan. 1, when I make an official count. What I do know already is this will be The Reading of the Calen- dar like no other. March 11 marked the first appearance of the word “corona,” when I noted the Hous- ton Livestock Show and Rodeo had been canceled. There are scratched out events, galas and gatherings that never happened. There are odd, random entries. On March 13, I forewent my dutiful notation of meals and caloric intake and wrote the single word “cake,” marking the prelude to the pandem- ic pudge I’m still working off. Then there was the cryptic July 22 calendar entry “resistance,” which, after some puzzlement, I realized referred to a weight-training session. If 2020 had a theme, it was health and why we should and could take better care of ourselves. This issue is dedicated to people of the upper Texas coast who, despite illness, pain and the disruptions of daily life, made resolutions, set goals and stuck to them. What makes them so remarkable isn’t that they set and met their own goals, but that they so willingly helped many others meet theirs. We hope this issue inspires you. Whatever is on your list of goals for 2021, Coast Monthly wishes you success. And we wish you a happy, healthy New Year. LAURA ELDER Coast Monthly Editor FROM THE EDITOR THE FIRST STEP IS COMMITTING TO COMMITMENT SALE PENDING! Contact me with all your Real Estate needs. Jim Rosenfeld BROKER ASSOCIATE Circle of Excellence Award Winner Hall of Fame Member Texas Monthly Magazine Five Star Realtor 2012-2020 Trulia and Zillow Five Star Rating Certified SIRVA Relocation Specialist 713.854.1303 Jim.Rosenfeld@sir.com “My exceptional Galveston team is marketing premier properties from the beaches to the bay — from historic treasures to high-rise condos!” WE ARE YOUR REALTOR ® ! EVIA | 9 Porch Street 4 BEDROOMS | 3.5 BATHS | +/- 3,942 SQ. FT. Offered at $974,880 MLS 811597 EVIA | 3 Broad Street 4 BEDROOMS | 2.5 BATHS | +/- 2,024 SQ. FT Last list price $428,880 DIAMOND BEACH | 10327 San Luis Pass Road, #711 4 BEDROOMS | 3.5 BATHS | +/- 2,334 sq. ft. Offered at $959,880 MLS 20615075 BEACHTOWN | 2553 East Seaside Drive 4 BEDROOMS | 3.5 BATHS | +/- 3,540 sq. ft. Last list price $2,075,000 TIKI ISLAND | 1354 Oahu Drive 3-4 BEDROOMS | 3.5 BATHS | +/- 3,001 SQ. FT. Last list price $999,880 SILK STOCKING HISTORIC DISTRICT | 2327 Avenue K Magnificent historic manse (ca. 1907) on glorious estate. Superb hardwoods. Divine original architectural finishes. Culinary masterpiece kitchen. Impressive quarters. Manicured gardens. 5 BEDROOMS | 3.5 BATHS | +/- 5,071 sq. ft. Offered at $949,880 MLS 4145236 EVIA Stellar new construction. Mesmerizing lake, golf course and West Bay vista sites. Gourmet island kitchens. Grand downstairs primary suites. Colossal screened porches. 1, 2 and 3 story plans. Priced from the $400’s GALVESTONIAN | 1401 East Beach Drive #400 Extraordinary beach front condo. Stunning ocean and harbor vistas from 5 expansive verandas. Exquisite finishes. Exceptional primary suite with dual baths. 4 BEDROOMS | 4 BATHS | +/- 2,253 sq. ft. Offered at $874,880 MLS 98078394 Proudly marketing for almost 15 years! SOLD! SOLD! SOLD! SOLD!SOLD! SOLD! SOLD! EVIA | 76 Island Passage 3-4 BEDROOMS | 2.5 BATHS | +/- 2,268 SQ. FT. Offered at $362,88012 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JANuArY 2021 SHORELINES WE ASKED ON FACEBOOK: Breathe without a mask, hugs and being in the presence of my extended family members. Denise Emmitte Byrd Building a new house, drink great wines and en- gage in conversations that don’t involve elections or coronavirus. Keith H. Lilley Building a new house on the bayou, no more online classes, mask-burning parties, free to party with lots of friends! Deb Miller Deats Looking forward to ditching the face masks. Rena Lidstone Spend more time on the beach and riding my island cruiser! Linda Dobbs Willis Cruising! Kay Cheatham After retirement from Texas A&M university at Gal- veston last January, hopefully 2021 will start my new retirement! Being able to go back to church, volunteer more and travel and be able to spend more time with family! Jan Hines remodel my home, retire from Galveston’s Texas A&M university after 31 wonderful years and volunteer. Jackie Robbins Cherry In 2021: go on a freaking cruise, see my children more frequently and live more healthy. Bobby Martin Improve my golf game and come to Galveston and play a round. Orell Fitzsimmons Continuing to learn from what 2020 gave me — time to slow down and value what is most important — health, family, etc. — especially as things (hopefully) start to speed back up. Amy Hoff Make up for all the time and experiences my small children missed out on in 2020 with older friends and family. Seth Alford I would love to open my bakery. But my goal is to continue my health and mental wellness journey and work on being the best version of myself possible! It’s a daily struggle but I’m so happy to see my growth! Angela Bivens I hope to achieve stronger and better health! Liz Garcia Smith Good health. Being able to travel to see my grandbabies. Johnny Lisa Halili Slowing down and enjoying life. Not being rushed and busy all the time. Laura Marie Diaz Tacquard Mine is simple! I just want to be grateful for every- thing in my life. Denise Sowell Shead Planking for two minutes and beyond. Sharron Fehrle Peace. Jack R Crummett I’m ready to go back to work! Also, losing the baby weight since my baby is now 2. Stevy Curbow My hope is to be able to take that long-awaited cruise. Jim Gainer Health and wealth. Wanda Fears Getting the vaccine so we can continue to cruise! Dotti Hollis Krustchinsky Sandy and I had to cancel our 2020 trip to Ire- land. For 2021, continued good health, safe trips with friends on motorcycle. Out-of-state organized trips with friends. Bruce Blankenship My husband and I really miss travel. We will get the COVID vaccine and plan a trip to Europe to see family in Denmark. Patti Abschneider Planning a stress-free wedding. Melanie McCormick Kaufman Hoping for COVID relief so that we can travel. Gary Raines Getting vaccinated! Mike McAfee What do you hope to achieve in 2021? photo by JENNIFER REYNOLDS Coastal Texans are looking forward to cruises and travel in 2021.OUTSMARTING CANCER in Clear Lake 281.333.8899 houstonmethodist.org/cancer-clearlake Our nationally recognized specialists are finding new ways to outsmart cancer. From screenings and diagnosis to the most advanced treatments, our leading cancer care is available in Clear Lake. And, you can be confident that we are taking every necessary precaution to keep you safe — so you can focus on healing, surviving and thriving. Clear Lake S P A C E P A R K D R . U P P E R B A Y R D . HOUSTON METHODIST DR. NASA ROAD 1 NASA PKWY. HOUSTON METHODIST CANCER CENTER 4514 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JANuArY 2021 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JANuArY 2021 15 FEATURE POWER COUPLE A fitness pact leads to first-place wins and a stronger family story by BARBARA CANETTI | photos by STUART VILLANUEVAM elody and Gabor Farkas made a life-changing deci- sion during one conversation: adopt a new lifestyle and train to be competitive professional bodybuilders. And just like that, they started on their adventure together. Melody, 39, and Gabor, 41, had different reasons for agreeing to the pact in 2019. But together, the League City residents managed to achieve goals that many competitors strive years to reach. In Oc- tober, they each won first place in their category during the Storm Classic competition in Texas City, which is part of the Global Bodybuilding Organi- zation. Competition was intense with more than 160 athletes vying for first place in a variety of levels. But Melody took first place in the figure category, where she was judged for her body’s symmetry, muscle de- velopment, tone, stage presence and posing. Gabor won the Pro Beach Body competition, a contest of body builders who wear long board shorts and show off their arms, legs and back. The journey has been interesting, they said. (Above) Melody and Gabor Farkas say bodybuilding and competitions have made them healthier and more disciplined. Their sons, Johnny, 6, and Lex, 9, are frequent visitors to the gym and see the benefits of the hard work, their parents said. (Opposite) The League City residents won first place in their categories in October during the Storm Classic competition in Texas City. Melody Farkas took first place in the figure category, and Gabor Farkas won the Pro Beach Body category. COASTMONTHLY.COM | JANuArY 2021 17 FEATURE Gabor, a chiropractor in private practice at Creekside Integrated Medical Center in Friendswood, treats many athletes, he said. After a speech he gave in the summer of 2019 on athletic injuries, he realized he wanted to look and feel better, too, and be- gan working out with new goals in mind. “Within a week, I thought this would be good to do and I wanted to do it before I turned 40,” said Gabor, who moved to Texas 15 years ago from Delaware. He spent the next three months focusing on his body and routine, entered a competition as an amateur and took first place. Melody, who also works at the private practice as well as at her father’s company, Manlove Advertising, grew up in Pasadena. She and Gabor married in 2009 and are the parents of two boys, Lex, 9, and Johnny, 6. She was so proud of Gabor and his win that she started toying with the idea of compet- ing, she said. “I had gained a lot of weight after my boys, but I thought ‘heck, I am going to do this, too.’ I’m so glad I did,” she said, noting she had competed earlier when she finished college, but her daily trips to the gym had not been with bodybuilding competitions in mind. But once they agreed to the plan, they stuck with it. “It snowballed and we realized it was something we could do together,” Melo- dy said. “With the two boys and our busy schedules, we could make this work.” The boys are home-schooled and are fre- quent visitors to the gym. They join in, doing pushups and exercises they see their parents doing, she said. “This is what we do and now this is how we live,” she said. “We work out, we eat healthy and spend time together. The kids see us doing this and the benefits and they might want to compete, too.” When Melody signed up for her first com- petition last summer, she was in the amateur division. But after she took first place in the contest that morning, she was given her pro card and she signed up for another contest that evening, she said. She placed second in the professional level. Bodybuilding and competitions have changed their lives. They agreed they’re much Melody and Gabor Farkas work out on the beach in Galveston. When getting ready for competitions, they train several hours a day and carefully monitor their diets.18 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JANuArY 2021 more disciplined with their time because the effort they put requires them to be. “Getting ready for competitions is very intense and a level of commitment is re- quired,” Melody said. They each train several hours a day and carefully monitor their diets. They abstain from alcohol and take vitamins and ap- proved supplements. They eat healthy meals of “normal” food, she said. During training, Gabor consumes about 6,000 calories a day; Melody consumes about 2,300 a day, they said. But as they work their way toward competition dates, they drasti- cally reduce their intake: he drops to about 2,000 calories and day and she cuts her con- sumption to less than 800 a day. They stop drinking liquids. The goal is to eliminate as much body fat as possible for the contest, and to be able to show off muscle mass. The objective is a sleek, streamlined body for judges to rate. “You look like that for a few hours only,” Gabor said. “You work so hard for so long just for that look.” He usually has about 12 percent body fat, but for competitions, it drops to about 6 percent, he said. Bodybuilding for them is a battle of mind and body, but having a partner helps, they said. “It is a struggle at times, so it is good to have someone who understands when you are irritable or have self-doubt,” Melody said. “It makes it is easier when you have encouragement and assistance from some- one who really understands what you are going through.” As a family, they spend lots of time togeth- er and their plan is to keep at it, they said. “I want to keep doing this for as long as it is fun,” Melody said. Gabor is a bit more philosophical. “I want to keep doing this as long as I can so I can be a role model for my sons and inspire my patients to do something to reach their goals,” he said. “If you want to achieve something, you have to work hard and not give up.” They’re looking forward to a big compe- tition in September and their goal is to each walk away with first-place trophies – solid- ifying their commitment to the sport and each other. FEATURE Bodybuilding is a battle of mind and body, Gabor and Melody Farkas said. During times of struggle, it’s good to have a partner who understands what you are going through, they said.Next >