Mailbag - December 2022

NATURAL BEAUTY Virgin Islands National Park protects two-thirds of St. John’s land, beaches, and seashores, allowing visitors to experience the beauty of St. John in its most natural form. Pictured (from left) are Zane, Becky, Ariana, and John Luman.

Travel inspiration

I loved the article on “A Virgin Island Thanksgiving” [Travel Buzz by Tracy L. Barnett, Nov. 2022]. The Luman family’s Thanksgiving trip to the Virgin Islands National Park sounds idyllic – escaping to a beautiful place to relax and enjoy time in nature as a family. The trip sounds like a great mixture of leisure and exploration and I appreciated Becky’s sensitivity to the sustainable development of the island. What an important balance to put measures in place to protect the natural environment and wildlife while allowing visitors to enjoy and explore the island’s beauty.

I also was really inspired by the Luman family’s attitude and perspective on traveling as a family – visiting 45 states and 90 National Park System sites! The article has inspired our family to set a goal to hit all 50 states before our kids graduate from high school (thankfully they are still young and we have some time). Thanks again for a great article and inspiration to travel!

Melissa Turnbaugh

‘Sort of’ memoir is certainly a hit

Cindy, just read your piece [Life: Mine for Instance: Cindy Gabriel starts a memoir – sort of, Nov. 2022] and it made my day! Your words are like honey – with a bit of cynicism – a combination that sets off many memories for me.

You’re a terrific storyteller – with a life full of good copy. I think you should go for a full-on autobiography. Besides, you have many great author photos for the book cover. You are adorable with your glass of wine in Montreal.

Nancy Bamberger

In pursuit of ‘the’ bag

Joni’s Editor’s Note [in Nov. 2022] gave me a good laugh. I don’t purport to understand anything about Texas university rivalries (I’m a Maryland girl myself), but her struggle to find the fanny pack resonated deeply. I was finally able to order one from Lululemon after waiting six months – and they mistakenly sent two! I have an open offer to her and any other staff member – you want it, it’s yours!

Thank you for the reading material. I truly enjoy it and think you and your team do great work.

Nicole Cramer

Editor’s note: Nicole, your kind letter made Joni’s day! She’s happy to report that she finally scored the trendy fanny pack but truly appreciates the offer. Thank you for the thoughtful gesture and feedback.

Hallo-Queen of creativity

I loved reading the Hallo-Queen article about Mia Parker’s incredible Halloween decorations [The Hallo-Queen: Mia Parker loves Halloween by Cheryl Ursin, Oct. 2022]! My daughter, Emmy, had so much fun helping Mia last year and our whole family has enjoyed getting to know her better. We’ve heard from friends all over the city in response to the article, including Emmy’s kindergarten teacher! This year our younger daughter, Lily, and one of Emmy’s friends, Alice Oates, helped out as well! We were so excited to see the final Halloween display especially the addition of Davy Jones!

Kari Beck

Loved this past article

I read your lovely piece about love [Just Love: It’s a no-brainer by Cindy Gabriel, Feb. 2021] and was so reassured by it. It brought tears to my eyes in fact, to be reminded that there are so many wonderful loving people out and about in our big city and they are all in their own quiet ways giving and taking love, soothing our collective ragged nerves right now.

Thanks so much for being one of these people; your article helped me a lot.

Amanda Godfrey Thiele

Editor’s note: Amanda, thank you for writing in and for reminding us about this truly lovely article. If you want to re-read it (or read for the first time), see out In Print section, where you can find all of our past articles.   

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