The Editor's Pen [From the Editor's Desk]

On a shelf next to my desk is a very special memento Louie Powell presented to me when I succeeded him as editorin-chief of this magazine. It is special because it is handmade. He designed the pen, turned the exotic wood for the barrel, selected the hardware, assembled the parts, and filled it with red ink. The pen has been on the shelf for the past year and has become part of a ritual that helps me focus as I prepare each issue. Whenever I come up against “editor´s block,” I reach over, pick up the pen, and imagine what Louie or the two previous editors, Andy Smith or John Kassebaum, would do. So far it worked.