Editor’s Letter

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www.persiancarpet.com EDITOR’S LETTER

Left: No really, everything is fine (day one of quarantine). Right: On set at St. Roch.

If you read my last letter, you may have noted that I talked about how through the fall we felt like we were doing too much. That came to a head over our holiday travels — we got on planes, trains, and automobiles to see family in Virginia and New Jersey, and then to squeeze in a family vacation to New Orleans while the kids were on break.

I hadn’t been since I was a kid, with the exception of a weekend wedding with a 4-week-old in tow a few years ago; needless to say we didn’t do much touring. But when we envisioned our beignets, bayou excursions, and cemetery tours, I don’t think we realized that we were booking the trip over New Year’s Eve, when Bourbon Street would be at its peak. That night, and the week leading up to it, the energy was palpable. It was exciting, unfamiliar, and a little uncomfortable. I don’t think I’ve seen that many people in the same place at the same time in… two years, anyway. We did our countdown from the safety of the hotel room with the kids, who didn’t seem to mind that the real action was outside.

Our mornings there were more my speed. It was unseasonably warm, so the kids took advantage of the rooftop pool at least once a day. I used my jogs to wander through the neighborhoods around the French Quarter, discovering for myself a hint of the architecture, art, and landscape that give the city its true soul. We drank gallons of chicory coffee and watched the street performers and fortune-tellers set up for the day.

On the way home, we became a part of those airline travel statistics — our flights were canceled, rerouted, canceled and routed again before we decided to cut our losses and rent a car for the 13-hour drive back. We just wanted to get back to Raleigh!

Back to recalling my last letter: be careful what you wish for. About a week after getting home, I was the first in the family to get a positive Covid test, quickly followed by both of the kids (still waiting on the husband as of press time). So here we are, after the hubris and whirlwind of all that holiday travel, in a forced slowdown. Two days into quarantine and we’ve already got the set of Encanto under construction in the kitchen, and the OMG, Rainbow High, and Barbie dolls — along with their camper and allll the hair accessories — have migrated into my living room “office.”

So it seems we will get a chance to do all those puzzles and projects after all. I just hope the house can survive it.

Ayn-Monique Klahre Editor

EDITORIAL

Editor AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE ayn-monique@waltermagazine.com Creative Director LAURA PETRIDES WALL laura@waltermagazine.com Associate Editor ADDIE LADNER addie@waltermagazine.com Contributing Writers Kara Adams, Wiley Cash, Jim Dodson, Mike Dunn, Ilina Ewen, Leah Finch, Susan Garrity, Hampton Williams Hofer, ImonyLowd, David Menconi, Jim Moriarty, David Rogne Contributing Copy Editor Finn Cohen Contributing Graphic Designer Morgan Gustafson Contributing Photographers Mallory Cash, Samantha Everette, Eamon Queeney, Bryan Regan, Joshua Steadman Contributing Illustrators Gerry O’Neill, Natasha “Edith Grey” Powell Walker PUBLISHING

Publisher DAVID WORONOFF Advertising Sales Manager JULIE NICKENS julie@waltermagazine.com Senior Account Executive & Operations CRISTINA HURLEY cristina@waltermagazine.com WALTER Events KAIT GORMAN kait@waltermagazine.com Graphic Designer ALYSSA ROCHEROLLE

Finance STEVE ANDERSON 910-693-2497 Inquiries? WALTER OFFICE LINE 910-693-2462 VOLUME X, ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 2022

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