Our fifth anniversary issue is on hope. What gives me hope? See below. These folks don’t think that print is dead. They don’t think that it’s a bad time to relaunch a magazine. And they don’t think (that much) about how many hours they put in, or what the price of this much effort is.
Until I read Paul Johnson’s “Heroes,” Shakespeare had for me a monopoly on describing the power of small groups, the alchemy of comaraderie, with “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.” But it turns out that our man from Stratford lifted that line and the sentiment almost directly from the real Henry V. For the young king had to have a little sit-down with his troops at Agincourt after being informed that his own 6,000 tired soldiers were no match for the 14,000 well-fed Frenchmen who were shadowing them. The king actually said: “I would not have a single man more than I do, for these I have here with me are God’s people.” Turns out they triumphed in the battle, and went on… to Calais.
If we’re talking about hope, I don’t have to look very far: this inspiring work, this unlikely bunch, the stories that we chronicle here, our incredible river valley.
