Letter from the Editor

This issue went to press late, and it’s my fault. The dog ate my homework.
In truth, the workload got to me and I couldn’t get all the writing done on time.
I’m happy to report that it should not happen again. We’ve been very lucky. A couple of freelance writers came forward, people with experience, talent, and a willingness to work for what a start-up publication can pay. We’re excited to have them, and I’m relieved. They’ll be carrying more of the writing load. You’ll see their work in the coming months.
You’ll love them. I promise.
Of course, we already had help from the inestimable Taylor Dungjen, the funny, smart writer who pens our fashion column, and then wrote last month’s cover story. She has another cover on the way. And I don’t want to forget our columnists — the backbone of what we do. They surprise me every month with their insights. This month we welcome Kelly Frick to the lineup as she takes over the Momitude column. Debbie Smelley shifts from Momitude to a new column, Smarts, where she’ll tell us how to help our children get the most out of school.
As happy as I am about the introduction of new writers, I’m glad I wrote this month’s cover story about Mozell Benson and her daughter Sylvia Stephens. These women are real Lee County treasures. They represent not only accomplishment, but remarkable creativity. Mozell grew up in the starkest kind of poverty, yet when she talked about her childhood, the word she kept using was “fun.” Sylvia, too, faced greater challenges than many of us will in a lifetime. But like her mother, she tackled them with unquenchable spirit.
It was personally satisfying for me to meet Mozell Benson. I’ve been admirer of African-American quilts for a few years. When I had a chance to see an exhibit of quilts made by the women of Gees Bend, Alabama, I went five times. Then I dropped a lifelong aversion to star-struck activity and stood in line with a book about their quilts so each of the quilters could autograph its pages. We autograph-seekers penguin-walked through an assembly line of signers, while officials instructed us to “move it along,” “move it along.” It wasn’t quite the transcendent moment one longs for.
Mozell more than made up for that. I never dreamed I’d have the chance to spend a couple of hours chatting with one of the country’s most innovative artists — not that she sees herself that way. I count myself very lucky, and I hope you will count yourself lucky, too, when you meet her in these pages.