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Dear Friend,

When I start writing this column each month, I ask our Copy Chief Dawn Cannon to give me copies of the major stories to help me remember special things about the issue. Upon reading the stack of copy Dawn presented to me this month, I was pleased to find in almost every article many of the Southern feelings that I cherish. For instance, on page 126, Cindy Briscoe and Kate Nicholson give a host of food and fellowship recipes. Farrah Austin shares her appreciation of the legacy of the Lowcountry's Gullah community on page 130. Andria Hurst celebrates one of the great traditions of the South in her story about comfort food on page 164. And on page 134, Rob Martin shows us how residents of Petersburg, Virginia, are renewing the spirit of their city by reviving its fine old neighborhoods. Fellowship, appreciation, legacy, care, comfort, and renewal are all vital components of the stories featured in our March issue.

While the focus of a story often dictates the type of photographs used, those images remain just as important as the words. One photographer may be challenged to capture the mood of a place or a subject. Another has the difficult task of showing every detail of a project so that readers will understand our step-by-step instructions. For example, in the azalea photography starting on page 76, Senior Photographer Van Chaplin aimed to document the color as well as illustrate the idea that planting masses of one hue is the way to go. On the other hand, in our Easter party story beginning on page 118, Senior Photographer Tina Cornett first had to highlight the emotion and beauty of the children and the Easter eggs. Then she had to switch thoughts to create instructional images in the shots on page 120.

The task of blending the words and photography falls to our copy desk and art department. I can assure you that some stories come together rather easily, while others need a little work to achieve the reader focus for which we always strive in Southern Living. I think this is a good month for us to value the beauty of our words and images and to realize how, together, they tell the story. This month, too, we welcome you to spring with our annual gardening special section. Turn to page 83 to get a great start on this year's garden.

Thanks for reading Southern Living.

Best regards,

P.S. Don't forget to enter your favorite recipe for a chance to win $100,000 in the Southern Living Cook-off 2002. Turn to page 197 to learn more.

John Alex Floyd, Jr., Editor

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Mar 2002
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