Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights.

– Pauline R. Kezer

I had a pretty rough phone call the other day.  Actually, every work day has been a bit rocky.  This past January, the business unit I have worked in for the past two and a half years was acquired.  In other words, I was sold.  Fortunately, I still have a job and I can continue to work from my home office in the Lowcountry. All good.

I don’t like much about February. The best holidays are long-gone, the worst holiday is reliably disappointing (obligatory romance is not romantic), and spring is a shameless tease that flirts a little, but won’t commit.

For me, this ghastly month is salvaged by one thing, and one thing only: the movies. Here in Beaufort, we have the opportunity to “think globally and act locally,” as we celebrate our very own International Film Festival, now in its fifth year. (See our extensive coverage in this issue.) This is also the season when we film buffs scurry to make sure we’ve seen all the nominees for “Best Picture” before the Oscars happen at the end of the month. This formidable challenge doubled in scope last year, when the Academy decided to bump the number of nominees from five to ten.

I hate to admit it, but I am learning from my husband.  Mac has been teaching me for a very long time, subliminally, sometimes in matters of fact, and lately in ways that are completely by his example.  This should not come as any surprise to me.  Mac is a clinical therapist.  He reads incessantly.  He has studied theories of human behavior and teaches people methods to identify flaws or character defects, gently prompts them to consider the benefits of changing, and provides a variety of tools to enable a person to begin and then sustain a better manner of living.