It’s the nature of the publishing business that sometimes we start out in one direction, only to veer off or expand into another direction. Our cover story is an example of that. At first, it was to be just about the Maddox Center, once a center of African American life in Athens but now long closed and in danger of “demolition by neglect.” But then, I happened to attend the annual preservation awards ceremony in early June, where the Athens Community Heritage Foundation unveiled their very first list of Places in Peril, and four of the six were African American, including the Maddox Center. Hence, our cover with a group of dedicated preservationists. I also happened to attend a weekly dinner of older gay men that’s been going for nearly ten years. I met five or six tables of men, including one couple who have been together 26 years. They represent a particular generation, a little older than Boomers, that grew up in the darkness of the closet and will end their lives together in the open. It’s a heartwarming story of late-life love. This Summer issue also includes a first-person account from a research subject on her experience of fostering and then owning a cat for the first time. Rosemary Wood is participating in a study by the UGA School of Veterinary Medicine, which is studying the effects of pet ownership on the well being of seniors who live alone. We wrap things up with Art and Connie Crawley who tell us about the revival of Baxter Street as a restaurant district. Bon Appetit!
Cover photo
(l-r) Jonathan Scott, Bennie Roberson, Jr., Marvin Nunnally, Suzzanne Tate, Lucy Rowland, representing six Places in Peril
Photographer: Don Hunter 
Contributors Art and Connie Crawley Rosemary Wood
Design, Layout Allyn R. Jenkins Typography
Contributors Kelly Capers Art and Connie Crawley Jim Marshall
Web Design Run Ruffian Websites
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