Editor’s Note

I'm not what you'd call an oenophile. I usually shop for wine by looking on the ten dollar shelf and seeking out those "$2 off" collar tags. But, like most people, I've had a few memorable encounters with a bottle of wine.

Did you know the word "smile" has no accurate synonyms? There's "Grin," of course, but a grin is usually a reaction to something, and the word suggests some effort on the part of the face. A genuine smile flows from within you. It's a spontaneous phenomenon, as unbidden as a sunrise and natural as a rainbow.

When I met my wife-to-be we lived in Atlanta, but she was a New Hampshire girl by right of birth. I heard plenty of stories about the granite state's charms, but when we finally moved here there was one charm i was most eager to sink my teeth into - a chocolate donut from a place called Janet's in Concord.

Summer has a reputation as a time of relaxation, but my experience is this is when we all really kick Life into overdrive. Good thing it comes with its own Rock 'n' Roll soundtrack.

I've been editing this magazine (or some version of it) for nearly 20 years and I've written a lot of these notes over that time, but my best one was done in may 1993. It was my first crack at…

After a long, weird winter filled with news of global upheaval, aren't you glad that the calendar has one month each year with a sense of humor? And if you think that April Fool's Day is just a human invention, let me remind you of last year's April Fool's snowstorm that closed schools, sent cars sliding and took out power for nearly 60,000 New England homes.

Ever try to get a wave started at a sporting event? It's not as easy as you might think, unless you have a bunch of friends on hand, ready to rise to the challenge.

I'd start this note with 'twas the night before Christmas but that sounds so 2011. Still, That's when plans for this February issue took a memorable turn.

What good's permitting some prophet of doom to wipe every smile away? Resolve to make the most of civilization's last days. Unless you've been living with the moose in Pittsburg for the past few years, you know that on Dec.…

You've got to love a holiday that produces its own fresh stream of music every year. And if that was your only standard by which to measure the significance of a celebratory event, then Christmas would win, hands down. And although much of what is played on the radio at Christmas is not exactly religious in nature (Jingle Bells performed by barking dogs comes to mind), there is something deeply soulful and mysterious about a time of year that so profoundly puts the "muse" in music.