The March/April 2008 issue (No. 110) hasn’t even arrived in readers’ mail boxes yet, and I’m hard at work on the May/June 2008 issue (No. 111). This is very early for me to get so deeply involved with an issue. Usually I take a few weeks off and build things on my property, but this issue needs more planning. It’s going to be stupendous. I’ve already talked to most of the involved writers to discuss their contributions. BHM has superbly talented people; I never tell them what I want, but instead listen to their ideas and make suggestions about how it would fit into the overall theme.

Now that I know that TMEN Publisher Bryan Welch is a regular reader  of this blog, I can’t divulge the theme of No. 111 too early, lest Mother Earth News try to steal some of the thunder we will create. We’ll probably expand No. 111 by a full signature (16 pages) and print an extra 10,000 copies. At least! It will be, I think, the most sought-after issue of our 19-year existence, and I don’t want to have to reprint it, like I did once before with our Issue No. 55. We had to reprint 10,000 copies of that one. Hmmm! Maybe I should print an extra 20,000 copies of this one.

Silveira will play an important role. I’ve suggested he bring back O.E. MacDougal for it. We’ll see. I’ve got one more important article to nail down. I may have to write that myself.