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FeedThe Picture of Health
As we developed the concept for this month’s cover package (“Lifesavers,” page 58), we knew that photographs would play an especially powerful role in telling stories of people who had faced dire medical situations—including, in separate cases, a severed hand, brain surgery and abdominal cancer—and built healthy lives on the other side of crisis.
Photographer Tessa Berg returned to the newsroom with truly inspiring images. In page after page, we see joy, relief, happiness, vigor and peace in the eyes of our subjects. In the case of Pat Marvin, whose hand was severed in a home-repair accident, there is even humor; in her portrait, she clutches a beloved power tool.
And then there is little Nicholas Metz, whose sweet smile you’ve already seen on the cover. I had the privilege of interviewing Nicholas’ parents for our story, as their 20-month-old son ran between a window (he is amazed by the outdoors), his mom and dad and his play space a couple rooms away. He is a bundle of curiosity, wonder, excitement and action. It is nearly impossible to believe that the child on the cover was once a baby whose legs were so tiny they could easily fit through his parents’ wedding rings. Now he’s a vibrant little boy who claps oversized puzzle pieces together with utter glee.
In “Lifesavers,” six amazing people tell their stories in their own voices; Tessa and her camera helped them tell us even more.
SHOPPING MEMORIES
As it turns out, our grandparents hit the nail on the head when they said, “They just don’t build ’em like they used to.” That goes for cars, clothes, buildings—and the annual retail Christmas spectacular. Ben Zenitsky’s story “Hustle and Bustle” (page 46) feeds your nostalgia for elaborate animated window displays, decadent decorations and being small enough to squeeze into the kids-only holiday shopping room at Lazarus.
Holiday shopping is still a bright, blinking sensory experience (don’t forget the ibuprofen!), and Santa’s lap is just as comfy as ever, but we lost something special with the closing of local, independent department stores. Christmas for me was synonymous with the State Street Marshall Field’s in Chicago, where sugarplum fairies visited your table in the Walnut Room, fairy tales were retold in a city block of windows and chestnuts were roasted fresh at street carts. I imagine your memories are just as warm and treasured.
We spend a lot of time focusing on moving forward, anticipating what’s next, having the newest thing. But it’s nice sometimes to remember the way things were—and find ways to bring the best of that to our present-day celebrations.
Kristen Schmidt
kschmidt@columbusmonthly.com
@MonthlyEditor
