In Our Summer 2018 Issue

"For many of us, clean water is so plentiful and readily available that we rarely, if ever, pause to consider what life would be like without it."—Chef Marcus Samuelsson 

As a native Floridian who grew up near the Everglades of South Florida, I learned to love and respect water. I lived in a place that was surrounded by canals, lakes, bays and oceans. I saw the strength water can have, and the gentleness of the calm after a storm. Many of my childhood memories are around the ocean—something I took for granted until I moved inland and did not have easy access to the beach, my happy place, the place where I relax. 

Our summers were year-round. We didn't experience the seasons I have come to love as a South Carolinian. Our start of summer was identified by the end of school and the endless amount of summer reading. There is something so relaxing about holding onto a book (or magazine!), flipping pages and getting lost in the stories being told, amidst the salty air and sandy toes.  

In this issue, we share with you some salty stories of fishermen and chefs, working to sustain our seaways and seafood. As always, I am humbled by the folks we feature, who work every day to leave our Earth a better place than they found it. Water has become a commodity, that which is easily accessible. We drink it from plastic bottles bought from a store, or splash around in it on hot, summer days. We assume we will always have access to clean water, and that it is plentiful, especially living in the Lowcountry.  

There are many lessons to be learned about water, and from the water. I hope you will settle on the sand somewhere, dive deep into our Water Issue, and enjoy the Books for the Beach, as we have recommended on page 8.  

As for me, I will be reading a timeless classic that my mother gifted me a few years back, Gifts from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh—one I read every summer, and yet continues to inspire me.  

Warmly,

-Jacquelyn McHugh, Editor in Chief