The other morning before work, I woke up, stumbled into the kitchen and found we were out of coffee. Running a few minutes behind (mainly due to aforementioned lack of caffeine but also because of last-minute attire change due to four-legged friends), my foot was a little heavy driving into the office. The cop that gave me my ticket seemed to be having the same kind of morning I was having. The speeding ticket caused tardiness to staff meeting, leading to disapproving look from boss.
Feeling like I really had it bad, I was serendipitously sent a reminder from one of my writers of just how small my problems really were. Opening my inbox, I discovered one of my favorite stories that we have ever run in this magazine (see Nine Lives: Amazing Stories of Survival, page 54).
Jocelyn Tatum eloquently captured the inspirational testimonies of nine locals with jaw-dropping survival stories. She spent hours upon hours meeting with them, making each comfortable enough to relive his or her experience.
I was instantly spellbound as I read about the Special Ops soldier who has survived 15 tours overseas; a mother-daughter duo that survived a Cambodian working camp; the first man shot who survived the Wedgewood Baptist Church shooting; a motorcycle accident survivor who lost her boyfriend when crashed into by a drunk driver; a Fort Worth rabbi who barely escaped Lomazy, Poland, just before the town was completely wiped out by Nazis; a Boston Marathon survivor; a military veteran who survived a car crash after exiting the base, leaving him with quadriplegic spinal injuries; and a sex-trafficking victim.
It's a great piece of journalism, and it made me reflect back to a time when I could dedicate myself to writing multi-dimensional features like this one.
After this issue, the 75th to which I have contributed, that is how you will see me playing a role in the magazine. I am passing the executive editor baton to some other lucky person and would like to thank you for lending me your attention for nearly eight years. It's been a pleasure to serve my favorite city and work alongside an amazingly talented creative team.
