From The Editor |
Yep. I'm packing my tent and stealing silently into the night. After spending somewhere between four and five years editing MAAM, I'm giving somebody else a chance to step up to the plate. I decided to leave while I still was enthusiastic, while I still got a charge out of seeing MAAM in print each month, and still liked listening to people at FSM laugh and discuss the contents. In other words, while I still cared. It's been fun, nerve-wracking, interesting, time-consuming, dismaying, edifying, ego-gratifying, insulting, humiliating, exhilarating ...
And most of all, it's been an important part of my life. It's kept me in touch with the wonderful people who have taken the time to write letters, articles, reviews, criticisms, items, and poems. Who have actually read the stuff I've put together, and taken the time and trouble to contact me about something. Thanks for your efforts! The real thanks go to the very special writers who, month after month, have slogged their way through actually creating something and getting it to me. And especially to the two wonderful Calendar Goddesses I've had the pleasure of working with, Carol Young and Joni Fetz. These two women have made possible the very center (both literally and figuratively) of this publication - the most important part, the part that you wait for … the part that keeps us in touch across the Valley of the Sun.
They've put up with lateness, errors, last-minute changes, forgetfulness, and all the other snags that occur when they put together a month's worth of meetings for over 800 people. And they've done it without pay, and mostly without complaint, month after month. They've allowed me to do the rest of the editing without worrying about the calendar. I couldn't have lasted past two months without them.
My heartfelt Thanks to both of you.
On with the New. Glenn Case, former editor of New Mexico's MenZia newsletter, has agreed to give it a try here for a few months. If he likes us, and we like him, we may be able to twist his arm and make him stay.
For next month, though, still send your submissions to me. I'll forward 'em to him, we'll compare notes, and see how it goes.
Here's to the next Editor! Treat him kindly, send him nice articles, and most of all, let him know how much you appreciate his hard work.
I'm outta here!