Editor's Notes

Someone told me once, that the world of foster care was a tree, with branches that shoot off in a million directions. Each of those branches were meant to represent the many, many areas of foster care that I could cover with the magazine. I’ve chopped. I’ve observed. I’ve counted branches. I haven’t even made a dent.

I’m (we, you and I) nearing nine years in circulation. I’ll spare you the whole “I can’t believe it” spiel, even though it’s true, you’ve read it before in this magazine.

This is the longest I’ve ever done a singular job. 

I’m kind of a bad employee. I don’t lack effort or focus, I just never saw the need for overkill, extra work. If I can do a task in a set amount of time, if done correctly, why should I waste more time on something? But jobs are full of meaningless tasks, it’s part of those gigs. This gig is pretty cut and dry, but I’ve been doing it twice as long as I’ve held any job in my life. Eight years is an eternity for a guy like me. 

Sometimes I’ll make a cover for an actual cover story. Other times, I’m exploring an idea. Generally, I explore that idea in these Editor’s Notes (is it pretentious to capitalize editor’s notes? Too stuffy and formal for me, but it is a column title…anyway.).

This issue might have gone out a bit late. (I don’t know that for sure, I just assume with the Holidays and the special print issue this month.)

The first five or six years of the mag were clockwork worthy. (Digitals anyway. There were times when the print issue would be held up at the printer for one reason or another.) The last two years have been pretty solid, but my health nonsense has caused some problems. All in all, for one guy, not too shabby.

I've done 83 mags. Only 2 have gone out after my deadline. Tonight will be the 3rd. Coincidentally, those other 2 times were Octobers as well.

Oh, how I hate how this next bit will sound. I hate excuses. I don’t mind reasons, but excuses hurt the ear.

Octobers are a tough deal for me. I’m not a fan of the term “triggers”, they’re real, I get it, I just don’t like the term. But October has those if I need to label them. There are the highs; two of my kids start the month off with birthdays. Everything after is a mess of depression on physical pain.

I know it seems like I’m breezy about running a national magazine. I know it appears that I only worry about money and who is hosting SNL this week. I know I act like I run a high school zine in the 90’s.

I know all of this. I’m doing it on purpose.

If I let the magnitude of this job, what I’ve built, how many people I reach, the level of people I work with…if I thought about it, for even a moment, I’d crumble under the weight of it all.

Common sense.

When all else is gone, it’s all I’ll have left.

From what I understand, it’s why people like me, why they hire me as a consultant or speaker. Hell, it’s why some of you are reading this. If nothing else, I have an overabundance of common sense.

I’m a practical dude. I cut through all the words and bullshit of any subject and find the root, from that, I find the common sense answer. This has always been my strength and calling card…not getting too many calls for my skill lately.

“I am NOT a role model!” It was in a Nike commercial in the 90’s that Charles Barkley uttered those words.

Sometimes I’ll make a cover for an actual cover story. Other times, I’m exploring an idea. Generally, I explore that idea in these Editor’s Notes (is it pretentious to capitalize editor’s notes? Too stuffy and formal for me, but it is a column title…anyway.).

Here is Chris in a nutshell; I’m an optimist with a chip on my shoulder.

This chip is well-earned. It was earned by years of eating the garbage of people the world deemed better than me. It came from being looked down on, lied to and shutout of parts of life others thought I shouldn’t be privy to. A life of injustices, big and small, gave me this chip.