from the editor

I love May...

...Not just because the trees are fresh with new baby green leaves, or the azaleas are in full bloom, or it’s warm enough to sit outside at night but cool enough to fend off the bugs, it’s mostly because it’s my birthday month. I know it’s a little self-serving, but I am one of those people who loves her birthday. And it’s mostly because of one of my favorite stories my dad used to tell me. When my mom was pregnant with me, we lived in Hilton Head when there was only a Red & White and a movie theater. Which is why I was born in Savannah. The nurses at St. Joseph’s Hospital were nuns. One of them placed her hand on my mom’s huge tummy and calmly stated (before the days of ultrasound), “Mrs. Blume, I think you’re going to have a baby girl.” The nurse turned to my dad and asked, “Mr. Blume, what do you think you’ll name your daughter?” And with a straight face in his ever-present teasing nature, he said, “Ima Rose.”