Editor’s Notes
Posted on May 1, 2012 by bob in EdNote
It was good to meet so many of our readers at the Alabama Book Festival and Helicity’s Montgomery Street Fair in late April. Despite ominous threats of rain (I could count the drops) many persisted and came out to enjoy the day.
The Book Festival is always a treat, a terrific opportunity to hear Alabama writers in an intimate setting. With authors such as Rheta Grimsley Johnson, Homer Hickam, and Dr. Wayne Flynt, you couldn’t ask for a more pleasant way to spend a day.
As for the Montgomery Street Fair, it was refreshing to 1) see so much activity downtown and 2) see a young, energized group building on the Alleyway’s success and creating such an invigorating new initiative that included fire breathers on the square, aerial gymnasts on Dexter, and Chinese Dragons at the fountain! Although the event didn’t garner the thousands of onlookers drawn by its predecessor in 1899, it was a great start to a tradition Helicity organizers say they expect to continue.
Best of all, both events gave us the opportunity to have a two-way conversation with you. We know the magazines fly off the shelves in all 450 locations, but unless we put a camera at each stand, we have no idea who picks up Prime, much less what you like (or dislike) about our magazine. Thanks to all of you who stopped by our booths at both locations. Please continue the conversation by writing me at primeeditor@gmail.com. What would you like to see more of? Less of? Is there a story idea or topic related to our “midlife and beyond” niche we need to know about? Drop me a line and I’ll definitely reply.
Speaking of readers’ suggestions, that’s exactly how we came upon this month’s feature story on local resident and U.S. Space Program pioneer Dr. Marvin Grunzke. In Making Space History (page 16) writer Willie Moseley gives us an absorbing read, detailing Dr. Grunzke’s task of training the chimps America launched into space in the early 1960s. A Prime reader alerted us to the presence of this Faulkner University professor and major player in the early days of America’s space race, and we thank her for the idea.
If you’ve looked around and found more empty than occupied bedrooms in your home, it may be time to consider downsizing. “What will I do with the living room furniture?” was my father’s seemingly silly reply when we’d posed the question to him. Turns out, that concern is far from silly and one many Boomers grapple with as more of us hit retirement age with each passing day. This month, in Downsize Me (page 10), writer Brenda Robertson Dennis talks with two couples who downsized, and how they reached their decision to move away from “home,” with additional insights from local realtors.
With May upon us (and if the gas prices quit soaring) it won’t be long before many of us hit the open road for a summertime adventure. Travel writer Andrea Gross suggests we consider heading east, to Key West. In her feature Finding the Key (page 26), Andrea describes the attraction – and attractions – of this Hemingway wonderland.
Happy May and Happy Mothers Day!
Editor Sandra Polizos
