Issue Three
Letter from the Editor
I put this picture on the cover because it was a day I'll never forget.
A difficult time.
At 40 I thought I had seen it all. As fate would have it I was in New York, in midtown Manhattan, on September 11th. I had driven in on the 10th to see Mara Hoffman's show, which was scheduled for the 11th. What more can you say–people flying planes into buildings is about as bad as it gets. Certainly, a demonstration of mankind at its very worst. It leaves me empty and at times somewhat disillusioned.
There are other positive sides though. Walking down 5th Avenue past the Flat Iron Building–the comradery, the silent conversations, the unity and serenity of New York was unlike anything I had experienced or seen before and will forever be etched in my mind. By dusk there were no cars on the streets. I remember a couple rollerblading, holding hands–whipping past me at 31st and Madison. There was one bus. No wind. Crystal clear skies.
I put this picture on the cover because it was a day I'll never forget.
Beyond this, I would like to mention my friend Dr. Larry Jacobs to whom I dedicate this issue of Traffic East. Few people in life have had such a positive effect on so many. I had the opportunity to know Larry in and out of his work environment, The Jacobs Neurological Institute (which he developed and founded) at Buffalo General Hospital. At the institute Larry gave me an opportunity to work on a series of portraits of his patients, (which now adorn the hallways). In turn, this gave me an emotional insight into a disease that took the life of my mother at an early age. Larry developed the primary treatment for people with Multiple Sclerosis. His passion was his work and his goal, which he was certain he could attain, and which he tirelessly worked at to attain, was to eventually develop a drug or vaccine to eradicate MS. I saw first hand how his work positively and profoundly affected many people with this debilitating disease. But it wasn't only the brilliance of his science that made Larry so very special. It was his human side which was of equal or perhaps greater import to his patients, his staff, his friends and his family. It was his unique, infectious humor which sadly I will miss and which with fondness I will always remember. You only needed to meet Larry once to be drawn in. You would then love the man. Simply put, he made you feel good.
In a recent letter Larry's nephew wrote to me, "I know we each have had personal losses. He is the first person I have ever known whose passing is a true loss to humanity because we have all lost his desire to help, combined with his ability to make it happen."
Well put.
In this issue, Keith Frome has written a feature profile on Wende Logan-Young–a must read. R.P. Gatewood is back with a piece on artist–painter, sculptor, metal worker–Isabelle Pelissier. We also have a somewhat topical essay, The Fragrance of Dew, by Gwen Ito. Jamie Verrico gives us his take on English musician Lloyd Cole–who recently played in Toronto. Joe Sweeney is our Music Editor. We have two short "off-beat" fiction pieces by Brandon Rauch and poetry by Helen Conkling. Daryl Crane is in Cleveland this time on another humorous trip. Thad Weitz reviews Walker Percey's The Moviegoer. Portraits in oil from Nina Gehl's trip to Hungary and much more.
I would like to thank our advertisers, our subscribers and our readers for the great support you have given Traffic East in 2001. Please stay with us and please subscribe.
God Bless–and have a Happy New Year.
Mark Ernest Dellas
At 40 I thought I had seen it all. As fate would have it I was in New York, in midtown Manhattan, on September 11th. I had driven in on the 10th to see Mara Hoffman's show, which was scheduled for the 11th. What more can you say–people flying planes into buildings is about as bad as it gets. Certainly, a demonstration of mankind at its very worst. It leaves me empty and at times somewhat disillusioned.
There are other positive sides though. Walking down 5th Avenue past the Flat Iron Building–the comradery, the silent conversations, the unity and serenity of New York was unlike anything I had experienced or seen before and will forever be etched in my mind. By dusk there were no cars on the streets. I remember a couple rollerblading, holding hands–whipping past me at 31st and Madison. There was one bus. No wind. Crystal clear skies.
I put this picture on the cover because it was a day I'll never forget.
Beyond this, I would like to mention my friend Dr. Larry Jacobs to whom I dedicate this issue of Traffic East. Few people in life have had such a positive effect on so many. I had the opportunity to know Larry in and out of his work environment, The Jacobs Neurological Institute (which he developed and founded) at Buffalo General Hospital. At the institute Larry gave me an opportunity to work on a series of portraits of his patients, (which now adorn the hallways). In turn, this gave me an emotional insight into a disease that took the life of my mother at an early age. Larry developed the primary treatment for people with Multiple Sclerosis. His passion was his work and his goal, which he was certain he could attain, and which he tirelessly worked at to attain, was to eventually develop a drug or vaccine to eradicate MS. I saw first hand how his work positively and profoundly affected many people with this debilitating disease. But it wasn't only the brilliance of his science that made Larry so very special. It was his human side which was of equal or perhaps greater import to his patients, his staff, his friends and his family. It was his unique, infectious humor which sadly I will miss and which with fondness I will always remember. You only needed to meet Larry once to be drawn in. You would then love the man. Simply put, he made you feel good.
In a recent letter Larry's nephew wrote to me, "I know we each have had personal losses. He is the first person I have ever known whose passing is a true loss to humanity because we have all lost his desire to help, combined with his ability to make it happen."
Well put.
In this issue, Keith Frome has written a feature profile on Wende Logan-Young–a must read. R.P. Gatewood is back with a piece on artist–painter, sculptor, metal worker–Isabelle Pelissier. We also have a somewhat topical essay, The Fragrance of Dew, by Gwen Ito. Jamie Verrico gives us his take on English musician Lloyd Cole–who recently played in Toronto. Joe Sweeney is our Music Editor. We have two short "off-beat" fiction pieces by Brandon Rauch and poetry by Helen Conkling. Daryl Crane is in Cleveland this time on another humorous trip. Thad Weitz reviews Walker Percey's The Moviegoer. Portraits in oil from Nina Gehl's trip to Hungary and much more.
I would like to thank our advertisers, our subscribers and our readers for the great support you have given Traffic East in 2001. Please stay with us and please subscribe.
God Bless–and have a Happy New Year.
Mark Ernest Dellas