Editor's Corner

By Mary E. Adair

Christmas holidays were spent with family with eighteen for the meal, and only 12 or 14 bedding down each night. All the requisite menu items plus treats piled high on trays (isn't the news that dark chocolate is healthy a boon to entertaining?) wherever one looked. Pies, pumpkin, cherry, pecan, tempted grazing ever so often, and can anything duplicate the essence of Christmas aromas?

Although the scales traveled along on the trip, they didn't shame anyone too badly, and back home again, they didn't prolong the holiday increases. Hurray for that. As your editor types, she is smelling supper that the cooking editor is preparing and soon all eyes will be trained on the televised celebrations and the traditional 'wait and count as the Ball drops.'

Bruce Clifford shares a couple poems for this New Year, "Bad Advice" and "Love is Lost." John I. Blair, sent along six beginning with "Basalt," which is almost a meditation, and lovely. Other titles from him are: "Cormorants," "How Many?," "Sand," "When Baby Sparrows Fall," and "Wolf." The other two, "I Heard" and "Oh Where" are by yours truly.

John I. Blair is donning a new role with Pencil Stubs Online - as columnist. Don't miss "Always Looking. . ." which details one of his more recent interests: Genealogy. We look forward to seeing what the future holds as he plans to include a variety of topics.

Regular columnists, Leo C. Helmer with "Cookin' With Leo," Gerard Meister ("Thinking Out Loud"), Thomas F. O'Neill ("Introspective"), Peg Jones ("Angel Whispers"), Mattie Lennon ("Irish Eyes"), and LC Van Savage ("Consider This") add their perspectives for this last issue of Volumn 12. LC Van Savage also authored the column we are carrying as our sole article (winks at LC) for January, "Dinkum and Leppy."

February begins the thirteenth year, or Volume for Pencil Stubs Online founded by Michael Craner and your editor. Mike also does the webmaster responsibilities and ably facilitates the publication in many ways. His own writing has taken a back seat the past year with job changes and relocating his family, but we keep hoping for it to blossom again.

See you in February!