Happy New Year, Everyone!

See the January 2022 Publisher's Statement below.

I know we are all hoping and praying for a better year than last year and especially hoping for better than the year before that. We want an end to the pandemic to get back to normal. But truthfully, we are still battling the new variants of the virus, still fighting over vaccines, masks, whether to work in person or online and over who to believe. We all need a reminder of that adage: United we stand, divided we fall.

United is one thing we have not been. The constant bickering over political lines has America at a standstill. Technically, you can’t remain at a standstill because if you aren’t moving forward, you are moving backward, and lately, there has been a lot of backward motion for America.

We have pretty much lost the battle with COVID-19, pivoting strategy to learning to live with it rather than conquer while leading the most daily cases worldwide. Also, the courts seem bent on turning the clock back on women’s rights and voting rights while the Democratic leadership’s hands are tied by a couple of their own, supposedly. We can’t get anything done and divided; we may eventually fall.

The Current Magazines are grateful to be here, surviving the shutdown and pandemic. In 2022 we want to continue to bring good stories about our communities while providing pertinent information to improve our lives.

This month, I would like to highlight an article Rolling Memories, as my good friend Laura Henley takes us on a delightful trip down memory lane, recalling our fun days at The Loop Roller Disco. Roller Skating there was an essential part of our young lives. It was our first job and where we made lifelong friends. I pretty much know the skating rink was the place that kept my friends and me out of the trouble that many youths encountered during their teen years. I only hope that Chicago can remember that providing safe, entertaining venues for young people is a huge part of the solution to helping them direct their energies toward good rather than bad.

Thanks for reading. Here’s to the New Year, and to moving forward together!