June 2003

By Jon Anne Willow

Dear Readers,

With summer just around the bend, the thoughts of many turn to lighter matters. It’s the thing to do, especially for a population whose warm weather days number fewer than national postal holidays.

It’s the perfect time to feature one of the fastest growing and exciting sports in the world — kite-boarding. This may or may not be your first exposure, but its’ star is rising, and with good reason. I hope you enjoy the piece, and maybe even take a kiteboarding lesson yourself. I think I might.

And even though our realm of concerns expand to vacation scheduling, festivals and backyard cookouts in the summer months, it’s important not to forget that the world is turning around us. We are all weary from endless news of the war, the economy and other harbingers of bad times to come (and some that have already arrived). But as citizens (used in the broadest sense of the word) of both America and the world, it’s crucial we not forget to pay attention to the signs of change around us as acutely as we note the sound of the neighbor’s lawn mower and the birds of early morning. Change is in the air. But how that change is manifested in long term ways is still up to us. Really.

One more quick note:Due to the popularity of the Danceworks Kid’s Art and Essay Contest, we’re extending the deadline for entry through the first week of June. Kids from all over the city are entering, so get your submissions in soon. For details, check our website at vitalsourcemag.com, email me at editor@vitalsourcemag.com, or call our offices at 414.370.5351.

Jon Anne

From the Publisher:As an immigrant, I often wonder about my role as a member of the society that has accepted me as one of its own. Often, I see myself as an equal in a land that accolades itself as a melting pot embracing every possible racial and ethnic background as its own. Yet there are times that I fear when it comes to it, I will be treated differently because of my Middle Eastern background. Given the current course of events, anyone in my position most certainly feels this way. However, there is this confidence I have always put in the American people, which I have often asserted in past writings.

My belief in the fact that an informed America will always side with the underdog has always and continues to form the basis of my strong admiration of this society, despite its sometimes seemingly callous disposition. There are times in the media when the portrayal of people of the Middle East fuels the fire of hatred, and it is unfortunate that there are some who buy into this misrepresentation. I know that fear is the factor that some elements utilize to stir up hatred and I know that lack of understanding leads to fear, and it is only logical to maintain misinformation to upkeep fear, and hence hostility and separation between nations and peoples. It is here that the role of the independent media is defined: to fill the gaps of misinformation with the messages of truth, respect and understanding.

I helped establish Vital Source over a year ago to, in my limited way, contribute to that high objective. It is only through individual fulfillment of that role that we can achieve that goal. The response to Vital Source has been phenomenal and exciting, and I have you, the readers, to thank for it. With your support and criticisms alike, you have helped the growth of this paper and I would like to thank you for your continued contribution to this development. Please help us with your comments, guidance, observations and criticisms by writing to my dear friend and colleague, our Editor in Chief, Jon Anne Willow, without whose unrelenting pursuit of perfection Vital Source would not make it as a viable, recognizable and respectable publication.

Mehrdad J. DalamiePublisher, Vital Source