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Inside Spirit's July Issue

JayHeinrichs
Adventurer B

I’m more excited than ever about Southwest Airlines’ inflight magazine, Spirit. Mail is pouring in for our June issue on dogs, nearly all of it having to do with the moving story about Puppies Behind Bars, “How Mya Saved Jacob.” I’m prejudiced, but I think it’s one of the best stories ever published about veterans’ post-traumatic stress disorder.

It’s hard to top dogs, but I think the July issue gives June a run for the money. Creative Director Kevin de Miranda attended five naturalization ceremonies for immigrants who did the hard work to become newly minted Americans. We sent a photographer to a big ceremony in Houston, then Executive Editor John McAlley got their individual stories—stories that together tell a richly patriotic tale.

For my part, I wrote a piece about what citizenship means for the rest of us. I live in New England, where the annual tradition of Town Meeting still thrives and where I occasionally make a fool of myself—including a time when I verbally abused a beautiful young elected official I happened to be in love with. Ah, politics.

Our latest tailor-made adventure is in St. Louis. Take the quiz to see whether you’re a Hoop Dreamer, Pit Master, Produce Fanatic, or Jazz Hipster.

And now for the Numbers: The average person has about 1,460 dreams a year. One bottle of wine contains 2.8 pounds of grapes. George Washington still owes $300,000 in library late fees. And seventy percent of women enjoy being single. That’s compared to only half of us men. Maybe we should stop yelling at beautiful elected officials.

4 Comments
Brian_Bohn
Explorer C
Jay- Really enjoyed the July 2010 issue of "Spirit" and your article "Just Rewards". As someone working in the behavioral change industry, I couldn't agree more with your statement, "A $5 transistor radio was worth infinitely more to a small boy than a mere $5. There's an important lesson here for anyone who manages people." Our company's roots were in the 1950s grocery stamps business and while the "media" and engagement tactics might have changed, the spirit of the grocery stamps still ring true. I am intrigued with your Oppty point system. It's similar to many of the programs that we run with our clients in engaging their employee, customer, and sales channel base. You're onto something. Thanks for the great work and fodder. By the way, I'm disappointed this article isn't on the archive of spiritmag.com. I'd love to get a digital copy. Any chance of that? Brian Bohn BI
lmoffat
Adventurer A
Hi Brian, I'm checking with our Spirit contact on this for you. I'll let you know when I hear something!
Joshua_Qualiana
Explorer C
Laurel, I would also love a digital copy of this magazine if possible. I was on a flight from Vegas and I couldn't put it down! Now I'm looking for a particular ad that was inside.
lmoffat
Adventurer A
Hi Joshua- I will see what I can track down for you! :) - Laurel