Letter From
the Editor
HIS ONE’S for my son.
The 11-year-old f lips
through the maga-
zine each month, but
reserves comment for
this page only: “When are you going
to write about me?” He’s noticed a few
mentions of his older sister, a line about
his mom here and there, and various
other acquaintances of mine who have
somehow wormed their way onto this
page. His patience is wearing thin.
As an adoring dad, I could easily
oblige. Perhaps build a column around
his Litt le Leag ue team’s recent cham-
pionship (he played short and batted
third), or the perfect report card, or
his voracious reading habit. (Who
reads books a second and third time?)
Nah, that stuff ’s boring, I suppose I
need to embarrass him a little, so I’m
thinking: sleepaway camp drop-off.
In the weeks leading up to the big
day, he would periodically tell me he
didn’t want to go—and how certain
he was the food would suck. But oncethere, I watched him carefully arrange
his stuff on the shelf above his bunk bed,
take pride in donning the camp Buff
and bravely hold it toget her while tears
welled up behind my sunglasses. This
was no small feat for this kid. He (like
many his age) really likes his routines
and bristles at change—especially the
kind that maroons him in Maine.
I’ve been thinking a lot about change
t his mont h. Fall is dripping w it h it—t he
weather, the back-to-school transitions,
even the freaking leaves. This issue
is tinged with it, too: From personal
discovery (“Bonding in the Backcoun-
try,” page 24) to aviation regulation
(“The Deadly Myth of the Bush Pilot,”
page 20) to technological innovation
(“Style + Design,” page 52), this issue
is packed with stories about people
butting up against changes, big and
small, and the myriad challenges they
face. Behind the scenes, we challenged
ourselves to make some minor changes,
too: an oh-so-subtly refreshed and
bolder look, more great takeaway for
our readers, and more reported features.
In that vein, I want to acknowledge
the herculean job by senior editor J.R.
Sullivan, who crafted a gripping narrative
about a 2008 accident at a Tennessee
coal plant, the hundreds of workers
who have suffered in its aftermath, and
the crusading lawyer attempting to
bring them justice (“Dirty Work,” page
70). It’s an incredible (and incredibly
important) story that’s worth your time.
As for my son, well, at press time
the jury was still out on just how suc-
cessful that camp experience turned
out. But I have a pretty good feeling the
change will do him good. Worst case,
he scores another letter all about him.GREG EMMANUEL
Chief Content OfficerT
008 SEPTEMBER 2019 MEN’S JOURNAL