It’s just a few days before Thanksgiving as I write this and I have just put our December holiday issue to bed. Tucked in nicely with all the holiday trimmings you will need to make your celebrations full of love and joy. Every year at this time we become reflective and memories of the past and visions of the future dance through our heads like sugarplums. It has been quite a year. For my family personally, my youngest daughter Stephanie got engaged to a great guy named John. Wedding coming up in February 2018. My wife Niki got two hip replacements this year. And she has been such a trooper. At 57, she is now the bionic woman. And her attitude is bionic, too. I admire her so much for going through so much in a short time without complaining. Our grandson Jackson turned 4 in July and is the joy of our life. It is so much fun being a grandparent and trying to keep up with him. And his mom, Natalie, has decided to become a Veterinary Tech because she loves animals. Time to hit the books again, Nat. Our Border Collie, Suki, crossed over the Rainbow Bridge just a few months ago. My daughter Stephanie found Suki 15 years ago, skin & bones, covered with ticks, roaming a field in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Suki was a big part of our family and even though she never got to herd sheep as she was genetically hard wired to do, she got to practice her skills on our six cats over the years. And a few young children, too. It has been an emotional year for all of us and we look forward to a peaceful year in 2018 for our family and yours!
Here at The Healthy Planet we are celebrating our 20th year of publishing. It remains a pleasure owning and operating The Healthy Planet and having all of you read us each month. Publishing is in my blood. First the Webster-Kirkwood Times for 17 years, and now The “Planet” for 20. It’s fun doing what you love for a living. And the people I have worked with over the years have been like family. Especially, our Green & Growing Editor Linda Wiggen Kraft, our Arts Editor Michelle “Mike” Ochonicky and of course our regular columnists Jean Ponzi, Pat Tuholske, Christine Kniffen, Dr. Simon Yu, Dr. Amy Davis, Dr. Teresa Garden, Dr. Doug Pernikof, Heather Navarro, and many more great contributors. Every writer and advertiser have helped make The Healthy Planet one of the best-read, locally owned and operated, monthly magazines in St. Louis for two decades. Our small office staff which currently consists of myself, Denise Christen in marketing, Celia Henson in administrative and bookkeeping and my wife Niki in proofreading, wishes everyone who reads the The Healthy Planet a very Happy Holidays! No matter what 2017 has brought to you, both good and bad, being with family and friends during the holidays is a great way to celebrate the positive and let go of the negative. And reading this issue of the “Planet” will help, too! We have good news for you — each and every month! Thank you for your continued support!
“Birds are nesting down. Autumn winds bring the final season on its wings. All are tucked and waiting for the snowbird sings of Winter’s wake from yearly dreams.”
Cheers, J.B. Lester, Publisher