Messy Mortality

Dear Readers,

Thank you to all, especially the Beaufort community, my beloved Facebook peeps, the membership and leadership of The Society for Marketing Professional Services,(SMPS), and my dear neighbors for your support when I had to face the death of my husband. It means the world to me and makes the path easier.

Author’s Note: The article below may come off as choppy. I intentionally left it this way as a comment about my state of mind lately. I would apologize, but I feel anyone who has ever lost someone will understand. Thanks in advance for your understanding during this tender time. Special thanks to Katherine Brown and Emily Davis-Fletcher for filling in while I was away.

"The first impressions I had of Beaufort and its surrounding low lands have given way to something more nuanced. As the first year draws to a close the scent of familiarity comes in with the spring tide but I know I’ve barely scratched the surface. There’s a lifetime of exploration to be had here."
- Jayne Parker

When photographer Jayne Parker left New York to spend a year in the Lowcountry, she knew she couldn’t build a proper client base in that brief time – she specializes in portraits – but she wasn’t about to sit around twiddling her thumbs, either. Not when her husband Arthur would be spending his days in historic downtown Beaufort, renovating one of the city’s most celebrated houses.

By Margaret Evans, Editor

Suicide rates in the United States have risen almost 30% in less than two decades. This is the finding of a government survey spanning the years 1999 through 2016. I stress that end date – 2016 – knowing that many of my readers might otherwise Jump to Trump. (Jump to Trump is my catch phrase for “jump to the conclusion that it’s Donald Trump’s fault.” Won’t work this time, y’all.)