December stories

Columbusites may be interested to know that I wrote two stories for the December issue of Columbus Monthly. “Bakery Boom” offers an introduction to the many independent bakeries that have cropped up over town in recent years. The research phase was great fun, especially the two day-long bakery crawls I did for two successive Saturdays.

The magazine did something fun this month, choosing both a “Naughty” and a “Nice” cover story in honor of the holiday season. The “Naughty” cover story advertises a story about the restructuring of Limited Brands with a leggy Victoria’s Secret model, and my story is the “Nice” cover story. Readers can choose which one they want to display during the holiday season.

Also in the December issue is “The New Spiritual Scene,” a photo essay I collaborated on with the very talented photographer Tim Johnson, who heads up the photo department for Suburban News Publications. The photo essay chronicles new and emerging faith communities in Columbus: a new Hindu temple, a street church for the homeless, a Latino Catholic Church, a Somali mosque, Baptist and Pentecostal “praise dancers” and a group of evangelical Christians who meet in a movie theater. This was a fascinating project to be involved in, and we worked very hard on it over a six-month period. My job was to come up with the story ideas, visit the worship sites with Tim, and then to provide the text.

In Lake magazine this month, Lake Michigan region residents can check out my story about the very talented Kalamazoo architect Roger Lepley and the funky, personal-sized drink tables he designs. They’d be a perfect Christmas gift for your friends and family members who like to enjoy their morning newspaper with a steaming mug of coffee. We have two of these tables in our house and we love them.