A Time to Celebrate

A Time to Celebrate

In this Holiday issue of 2022, there’s plenty to celebrate.

We’re finishing off a record year for the number of pages, stories, photos, ads and, best of all, reader compliments for a magazine that folks keep telling us they read cover to cover and can hardly wait for the next one to hit their mailbox.

We’d like to think this edition is equally well worth waiting for, with a wide variety of compelling columns, fabulous features and unforgettable photographs, starting with those three precious children gracing our front cover thanks to the usual brilliant work of photographers Doug Gehlsen and Karen Monroe of Middleburg Photo.

I’d also like to cite the eye-popping work of Tiffany Dillon Keen, who keeps coming up with so many intriguing angles in her feature photo shoots,. And, also our newest picture-perfect addition, Donna Strama, who took all those lovely shots of the glorious Ginkgo trees in full fall color over the past few weeks.

I’d also like to give a gigantic shout-out to Meredith Hancock, who designs all of our pretty pages and many of our ads and has never once in four years of putting it all together said “no way” to a single request. And trust me, some of those requests, usually mine, definitely deserved a “no way” response.

Hats off to what I like to call our “shadow” editor. That would be none other than my amazingly talented wife, Vicky Moon, who married a techno-moron but makes up for it by meticulously laying out the magazine, deciding where every ad, story and photo will go, handles all the photo spreads and the magazine’s marketing and, oh yes, writes more than the occasional story. She’s only authored 11 books, but who’s counting. Me. I’m four behind and will never catch up.

And speaking of Ginkgo trees, this one on the southeast corner of the Safeway parking lot caught our eye.

Photo © by Vicky Moon

Finally, there’s our dedicated and oh-so-talented roster of phenomenal freelance writers. They run the age gamut from teen to octogenarian, and obviously we couldn’t do any of it without their enormous skills, their passion for the subject and their prowess with the written word.

There are countless examples in this issue—John Toler’s piece on a long-forgotten Fauquier town, John Sherman writing about another memorable day at the Ashby Inn, Linda Roberts on an amazing 94-year-old artist (along with three other stories), M.J. McAteer on Windy Hill’s young new executive director and on and on.

As for those reader compliments, we can’t thank you enough. My old boss at The Washington Post, the late, great executive editor Ben Bradlee, used to call such kind words and complimentary notes and emails “psychic income.” Of course, it doesn’t pay college tuition, but trust me again, it makes it all worthwhile for every recipient writer or editor on the planet.

So many thanks for putting a little more ZEST on your reading list every other month, and wishing one and all a happy, healthy holiday season and a grand new year. It will be our fifth for the magazine. More to celebrate. Can’t wait!!!

Leonard Shapiro Editor Badgerlen@aol.com