By the Staff of the Concord Magazine
We're on cloud nine announcing that the Concord Magazine has gone the whole nine yards to be celebrating this, its ninth anniversary edition
Our entire staff is dressed to the nines, sitting around considering how this ezine seems to be so strong as to have nine lives.
One by one, as we take down and toast our success with 99 bottles of beer on the wall, we remember how close we came to not having this anniversary when editor Debbie Bier considered closing down production a couple of years ago. But, just as a stitch in time saves nine, she reconsidered, declared "nein!," plucking us from the edge of oblivion!
Umm... excuse us? Do we hear some complaints emanating from the back of the room? Something about strained puns and an awkward overuse of idioms? You see, this is one of the things we like the most about the Concord Magazine. We aren't slaves to advertisers, paid subscribers, or popular fashion. We do this because we LIKE to, not because we have to, or because we need to please a particular audience or constituency.
This is just the type of independence and freedom of the press that much mainstream media is struggling to exercise these days, but that which our democracy cannot afford NOT to employ. At this time of the widespread fracturing of the force and veracity of a significant portion of the fourth estate, we like to think we are a just bit refreshing, if not a little nine-year-old miracle.
That said, we cannot allow another sentence to go by without thanking our stalwart contributors. And since we neglected to note our 8th anniversary last year (and therefore forgot to thank anyone at all): to our contributors: Concord Fire Chief Ken Willette, Morwen Two Feathers, D. Richard Scannell, Lynn Jones, John Small, Elliott and Sarah Wilbur, D. Michael Ryan, Elizabeth Zeng, AnneMarie Donahue, Liz Nelson, Leslie Perrin Wilson, R. Todd Felton, Carol Gupta, Sister Mary Joseph Powers, O.P., Town Moderator Ned Perry, Dorrie Kehoe, Roger W Hancock, Conni Manoli-Skocay, Ginger Allison, and Helen Deese. To our artists and photographers: Richard Stevenson, Steven Erat, Donna Cunningham. To the Special Collections of the Concord Free Public Library and the members of the Concord Discussion List. To our proofers: Conni Manoli-Skocay and Sallie Satterthwaite. And to all the other people we have just now insulted by not noting their names and contributions: we salute thee!
So, what should we do to celebrate our 10th anniversary next year? Your suggestions are welcome (email us.
Artwork: Backgrounds by Word of Mouth Web Design. Images courtesy of Clipart.com.
