If I told you that Southwest takes you places, you might reply with something appropriate like, “Well, duh.” But what if I asked you to define “place” exactly. Is it something more than a name or map coordinates or an airport code? What (besides friends and family) makes you want to go there? And, once you go there, is there an exact spot you most want to visit? Or a time?
That’s the theme of this month’s cover story in Southwest’s magazine, Spirit. It’s about place, and what makes a place a place. In other words, what turns a place into a destination, and gives a destination a soul? We asked Southwest Customers to help us find the special spots. You think you know New Orleans? Well, have you been to the new bohemian neighborhood called Bywater? How about Third Ward in Milwaukee, a former wholesale district thrumming with music and with bars like the Milwaukee Ale House? How about Baltimore’s Remington, home to Charm City Cakes? Or Wynwood, Miami, where you see some of the wildest art in Florida? There’s plenty more where that came from, and plenty more to come. As long as America has hopeful people with the drive to carry out their hopes, there will be special places.
Meanwhile, here’s someone who needs no introduction: you. This issue contains an excerpt from a fun, useful book on public speaking, Some Nerve by Patty Chang Anker. It’s a sweet memoir as well as a self-help book. Feel free to clap at the end.
And now for the Numbers. Our taste buds regenerate ever two weeks, thank goodness. Florida boasts more than 700 springs (our favorite will always be Weeki Wachee, because of the mermaids). And an extremely brave 19 percent of bridegrooms chose their beloved’s wedding dress. And that number is growing. Talk about hopeful people!
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Yeah I’m prejudiced, but one of of the things I love about Southwest Airlines’ inflight magazine is how far we go and how deep we drill down. Take this month’s issue, about the humble cookie. We don’t just publish recipes (though we certainly do that), we publish recipes you will absolutely have to try. Which the editors did, of course. But they also covered the gamut from history (the Civil War helped create the modern American cookie!) to booze (cookie pairings!), all while celebrating the cookie’s simple beauty as the ideal treat.
And even that wasn’t enough. Executive Editor John McAlley—who, by the way, would probably be writing bestselling books if he weren’t so busy editing Spirit—sent himself to Hawaii to interview Famous Amos himself, Wally Amos. The story contains some sour along with the sweet; the man most identified with the chocolate chip cookie is living on Social Security, struggling to handle a messy personal life, and determined to remake himself. John wrote a brilliant profile with a classic moral. Sometimes what brings a person success can also bring him down.
But the issue itself has an equally profound moral: have a cookie.
And now for the Numbers: the Girl Scouts sold 215 million boxes of cookies last year. An electric eel can power 10 light bulbs. And the @ symbol is at least 477 years old.
Ponder that while you’re sniffing the milk.
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This month’s cover story in Spirit has to do with technology in education. Teachers across the land are experimenting with “upside down” classrooms, in which the kids watch the lecture stuff—videos—online, and then do the exercises during class hours. Teachers can spot the struggling students and intervene quickly.
For those like me who took their last math class decades ago, are lessons within the lessons. The experiments with teaching and tech offer some insights into how we non-students learn. Writer Jennifer Miller talked to scientists and learned the lessons. You’ll want to read our new online flipbook.
Lesson #1: The brain likes new stuff. Meaning, stimulation.
Lesson #2: Use it or lose it. The brain needs exercise.
Lesson #3: The brain gets high on participation. Active engagement releases dopamine, a chemical that makes us feel good.
Lesson #4: The brain needs feedback. That means immediate feedback. Those videogame designers aren’t stupid.
For the cover we wanted a Norman Rockwell look. We tried the kid in various positions, including politely seated at his desk with an iPad. Ultimately, the feet-up pose won. For obvious reasons.
Now for the Numbers. It cost Ray Bradbury $9.80 to write his classic sci-fi novel, Fahrenheit 451. That was for typewriter rental. The most expensive nail polish costs $250,000. It contains powdered black diamonds, which every spoiled-rotten nail needs. And our forebears were brewing beer 12,000 years ago—probably even before bread. Caveman party time. Excellent!
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Putting together a magazine means talking to talented professionals who have become your friends over the years. It’s like a party, usually without the hangover. Plus you get to do it every month. Plus, in the case of Southwest’s Spirit magazine, there’s travel. Yeah, we know we’re lucky. Take this issue, for instance. It started with a phone call from Bruce Anderson, a veteran journalist and travel editor of Sunset magazine. America had just named a brand-new national park in California, Pinnacles, which happened to be Bruce’s childhood stomping grounds. Bruce wanted to do more than just visit the place. He wanted to know what qualifies the place to be a national park—and what does that say about America? When you hang up after a conversation like that, you can’t wait to read the story. And the further collaboration of really smart people in Dallas made the story even richer. But Bruce had the most fun of everybody, exploring the wilderness of his childhood and scanning the skies for America’s biggest bird. Then Creative Director Kevin de Miranda sent photographer David Collier to the place. Kevin had a picture in hand that might make a great cover. It showed a rock climber scaling one of the weird formations that give Pinnacles its name. The photo was just short of perfect. So Kevin asked his photographer to reshoot it, this time using a woman. Done. The story seems appropriate for an issue with a big package called “Made in America,” which celebrates homegrown products from Steinway pianos to Tabasco sauce. Do we seem especially patriotic this month? Well, duh. For the Adventure, we head to the city that inspired our national anthem, Baltimore. And, as always, we do the numbers: Americans blow an average of 9 unused vacation days apiece. Scallops have as many as 100 eyes. And an Army-issued barbecue sandwich lasts two years. See the full July issue online.
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Do you surf? I just learned, inspired to try after reading this month’s cover story in Southwest’s inflight magazine, Spirit. Alex Hannaford, a British-born writer who contributes to GQ and the Atlantic, did the story. It’s not just about surfing. It’s about how surfing can save your life. The girl on the cover, 13-year-old Taylor Cottrell, has a rare primary immune deficiency order. Until recently she was hooked up to an IV. After surfing therapy from a former pro surfer named Van Curaza, Taylor has fallen in love with the sport—and finds it the best medicine.
I’m a skeptic by profession, so found it hard to believe until I got up on my first wave. It’s an indescribable feeling. Plus the paddling is the greatest exercise there is. And just sitting on the board in the ocean, waiting for a wave…well I’m a convert. It’s easy to see why Van’s nonprofit group, Amazing Surf Adventures, has helped many challenged people surf their way to a better life.
We at Spirit love doing stories like this—not puff pieces, but real-life tales with heart. We think they fit well with this heartfelt airline.
The issue also contains a piece by a pal of mine, Doug Humes. Doug and his wife, Barb, have troubled the country looking for “slivers of history,” signs of the past where you can get up close and personal with America’s story. They found the table of one of America’s greatest traitors (you can stay overnight in the house), the town where Jesse James lost his gang, the hotel where “California Dreamin’” was written, and more.
So what “slivers” can you recommend? Where are your undiscovered places where you can literally touch history? And, while you’re at it, where are your favorite Southwest-served surfing destinations?
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01-03-2013
02:59 PM
298 Loves
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen magazine editors have more fun than they did in making this issue--which, in a travel magazine for Southwest Airlines, is saying a lot. The main topic was “Learn New Tricks,” and some of the staff decided that they would take on the assignment themselves. That’s why you see Associate Editor Noah Bunn kicking a football on the cover. Noah’s many talents do not include football, I’m afraid. So he went to pigskin powerhouse SMU to learn how. You’ll have to read the story to see how he did.
Even more impressive, Assistant Art Director Stefanie Pepping, who’s about to have a baby, learned to sew. Hyper Senior Editor Alison Miller learned to meditate. And Assistant Editor Austin Morton--just about the fussiest eater over age two--downed raw oysters.
It’s funny to think of these young ‘uns learning new tricks. That’s normally reserved for old dogs, right? So what new tricks would you want to learn? Put them in the comments below.
Speaking of youngsters, you’ll want to read about the SparkTruck, a vehicle that looks like an ice cream truck and cruises across the country bringing science fun to kids. Any vehicle with a laser cutter has to be cool, and this truck--the brainchild of eight Stanford grad students--has that and more.
And now for the numbers: Facebook processes 2.7 billion “likes” a day. Using firmer pavement in roads would save $15.6 billion in fuel costs each year. And snack recipe this month is for bacon caramel corn. No, that’s not a number. But really, you have to try it.
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We at Southwest’s inflight magazine, Spirit, like to think our stories have at least as much heart as any other. This issue is no exception. It’s chock full of heart, starting with the cover story: “The Heart of Darkness.” We flew Megan Feldman, a Denver-based journalist, to Los Angeles to meet a pair of remarkable men. Seventeen years ago, Ples Felix’s only grandson murdered Azim Khamisa’s only son. The shooter remains in prison. The father and the grandfather now travel the country teaching forgiveness at school assemblies, and they work together on the Tariq Khamisa Foundation, named for the victim.
The men inspired Megan so much that she hopes to meet other forgiving people and write a book on forgiveness. “If to err is human and to forgive divine, how do we access that divine power?” Megan asks. I hope she learns the answer and writes the book.
So how would you illustrate a story like that? What would you put on the cover? Our art staff went straight to Adam Vorhes, a contributing photographer to Spirit and one of the most talented people I know. He hired a bird wrangler to shoot some doves—photographically, that is. Adam also brought in a model to live a single white dove from among a flock of dark ones. That picture opens the story. The cover itself? The white dove, wings outstretched.
We went in the opposite direction with another feature story, sending Peter Heller on a cruise. Pete is the last person I’d expect to take a cruise. Author of the bestselling novel The Dog Stars, he’s also written books on whaling, extreme kayaking, and surfing. Would cruising be too tame for this guy? Read “Man Vs. Mild” and find out!
And now for the Numbers: 24.4% of last year’s Black Friday shoppers lined up the night before. The nation’s top speed limit is 85 mph. And tomatoes have 6,760 more genes than humans. Will we humans ever ketchup?
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08-01-2012
08:00 AM
543 Loves
One of the many cool things about watching the Olympics is pretending to be an Olympian. Or am I the only grownup who actually does that? I love going outside and tearing around after watching runners break the tape. Or I’ll watch tennis and throw a tennis ball onto the roof and try to catch it, pretending I’m Roger Federer (without the racket or movie-star looks).
In this issue of Southwest’s inflight magazine, Spirit, we offer both a chance to see sport in a new way, and tips on how to participate personally. Our cover model, Oksana Masters, is one of the most awesome people you’ll ever meet. Her story—abusive orphanage, loving foster mother, indomitable courage—will get you totally jazzed about the Paralympics.
And if you want to create your own triumphant story, check out our package on fun runs, shepherded by Assistant Editor Austin Morton. We have some great pictures of participants in the Color Run, a Dallas event that sprays runners with colors so they finish looking tie-dyed. Plus, my pal John “the Penguin” Bingham tells how to turn your weekend 5K all the way into a marathon.
We stay on the good-for-you theme with our Business Idea. Associate Editor Noah Bunn and I were kicking around an idea I’ve had for a few years. What if you could cut insurance costs by helping people get fit, overcome bad habits, and eat right? And what if you incentivized people by paying them to succeed? A win-win-win. And it turns out we weren’t the only ones to think of it.
Our adventure this month takes place in Tampa, one of my favorite cities. The cocktail is Oaxaca punch, which turns tequila into a cool nectar.
And now for the Numbers: Recruiters spend 6 seconds reviewing your resume. The most expensive parking spot in New York costs a million bucks. And almost 69% of the world’s freshwater is frozen. Um, for now, at least. Hot enough for you this summer?
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07-03-2012
03:04 PM
454 Loves
Sure, we’re Southwest’s inflight magazine. But we don’t think of ourselves so much as a travel magazine--more of a general interest magazine read by people strapped into their seats. And our readers seem to see us the same way. Our story in February about Rob Summers, the first paraplegic to stand on his own, continues to generate lots of letters. Last month’s cover story, “The Power of One,” showcased people who make a difference.
But deep down, of course, we’re a travel magazine. So this month’s cover is all about what we really love: inspiring places. You’ll discover the lake in Vermont (yes, Vermont) where French undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau learned to love the water; the towns that Stephen King used to set his scariest books; the commuter rail line that sparked the Erector Set; the restaurant where a Boy Scout named Stephen Spielberg became a filmmaker; the plantation that launched Alex Haley’s Roots; the real-live courthouse in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird; the mountain where a college professor wrote “America the Beautiful,” and the Harlem jazz clubs where Langston Hughes became one of our great poets. These places don’t just give us insights into the great American story. They show you where inspiration comes from. It’s not always out of the blue.
Also in this issue: the oysters of Chesapeake Bay, where some dedicated scientists and fishermen are working on a comeback for the struggling bivalves. This month’s adventure is in Kansas City. This month’s cocktail contains now-legal absinthe. And, as usual, the Numbers: nearly 33 million Americans live alone, a female flea consumes 15 times her weight in blood each day (yuck), and we’ll eat enough ballpark franks this year that--if you laid them end to end--would round the bases 28,489. Or allow a whole slew of us to consume 15 times our weight.
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06-05-2012
10:30 AM
385 Loves
We at Southwest’s Spirit Magazine love to do stories about people who do things for others. Those stories help us live up to our name, after all. But to be honest with you, the true do-gooders of this world sometimes make me feel guilty. Yeah, I’m a good citizen and all that but I haven’t healed the sick in Calcutta or restored ocean habitat off New Jersey. Do you ever feel like that? As if you should be inspired by those stories but end up feeling a little down?
That’s why I love this month’s cover. It looks like a story about some rockers you can still hear on FM radio. But it’s really about a very cool guy named Michael Matthew Ferrell who has dedicated his life to a group of seniors. Everybody who sees that cover asks, “What group is that?” They’re a group called Alive & Kickin’, based in Minneapolis, and according to senior editor Alison Miller, they’re a hoot.
Alison and the rest of the Spiritistas covered some other equally fun do-gooders this month, including the founder of one of the largest urban farms in America, a woman who keeps African-American voices alive, a baker run for woman immigrants, a ten-year-old scientist named Cassandra who turned cooking oil into home heat…and Pearl Fryar. Pearl has brightened up one of South Carolina’s poorest counties with topiary that attracts people from miles around.
None of them makes me feel guilty. They make me want to do fun stuff like that. That’s not do-gooding. It’s do greating.
Our ever-popular Numbers department includes the following numerological nuggets: Each of us is weighed down by a ton of pressure. A tarantula has 18 more grams of protein than a strip steak (yum!). And 24% of people bring their phone to the bathroom on every trip.
Um, what do the rest of them do?
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There's an old expression, "If everything goes right, it's not an adventure." It's an expression you won't hear Southwest people say. Their job is to make as much go right as possible.
So when I heard that the TLC Network was debuting a reality show on May 24, I was skeptical. I mean, think about it. How much drama can there be in flights getting in on time, baggage arriving where it's supposed to be, and cheerful Employees boarding planes smoothly?
So our executive editor, John McAlley, flew to Chicago to see how the film crew worked its magic. A blizzard blew in while John was there. Perfect! But the problem was...very few problems. Not a lot went wrong. So John made a second trip to flesh out his reporting. And we ran the story in the form of a multi-page cartoon. We did our own drama through the art, with the film crew dashing through the airport like superheroes after they've gotten a tip about a dog loose on a flight from Detroit. Reality at its best.
This issue includes another form of reality entertainment: TED talks. Have you gone online to see these great short presentations? They cover the gamut from science and technology to social trends. Writer David Hochman went to the big annual TED event in California and wrote an unabashed love story.
We also have a great piece on Habitat for Humanity and how it helped our writer with some personal skills. And Travel Editor Amanda Gleason goes on a series of adventures in Detroit.
Now for the Numbers: Children smile about 400 times a day. Every American eats 20 pounds of onions a year. More than eight of ten HR managers judge you by the state of your desk. Good thing none of them have seen mine.
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04-02-2012
09:12 AM
324 Loves
Southwest moves you to where you want to go. We at Southwest’s inflight magazine try to move you in other ways. Sometimes to tears. And usually on purpose. What else would you want from a magazine called Spirit?
Well, this time we want to move people literally. As in, get you moving. Here’s how it started:
Some months ago, I got an email from a fellow Spiritista (that’s what I call my magazine teammates), reporting that Keen Footwear was trying to “bring back recess” for adults. They were starting an ad campaign, and my pal Hilary wondered whether we could offer some sort of editorial mention in return for advertising.
Usually I say no, but this time I got excited. I’m a passionate believer in playtime. And, after years of being made fun of for my tendency to throw stuff and bounce around the office, research backs me up. Periods of pointless, stupid fun are proving to be beneficial to the health of both body and brain, for adults as well as for kids.
I told Hilary, “We’ll do big stuff for them! In return, though, our readers should get Keen’s active participation. And free shoes!!” So Hilary and I, along with Kevin, our Creative Director, flew to Portland, Oregon, to meet the Keen people. The CEO and “Chief Recess Officer” of that company, James Curleigh, is a wild man who made me look unplayful in comparison. James insists that his co-workers play with toys. Several times a day.
The result of our collaboration is this month’s issue on “the art and science of play,” plus a regular play column every month. We recruited an expert panel, all under the age of 12, from around the nation. And, yes, we’re giving away Keen shoes.
Sure, Keen is trying to sell a product. But they’re also selling an important cause: bringing play to the workplace. (Check out their recess toolkit!) Play is one of Southwest’s not so hidden secrets. I think it should be everybody’s.
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05-09-2011
08:53 AM
367 Loves
Here at Southwest Airlines Spirit Magazine, we aim for at least one memorable yarn every issue. We’re not interested in the kind of stuff you see in other inflight magazines—trend stories on hot new wines, celebs crowing their “passion” for a restaurant. We love stories that live the spirit—we’re suckers for happy endings—that make him turn to the stranger in the next seat and say, “I love you, man.” (Unless it’s not a man.)
Writers send ideas from all over into our Dallas office, and we regularly wrack our own brains for true tales of ordinary people doing great things. So it’s unusual that I found a story two miles from my house in rural New Hampshire. Jim Collins—author of an amazing book, The Last Best League—and his wife Kristen Laine (author of a great book on marching bands) had hired a babysitter to watch the kids during the summer. The sitter, a high school senior named Ian, was a drama kid who starred in all the school plays. My friends asked him to start a day camp at their house for their own kids and their kids’ friends. The result was a multi-year bit of summer magic.
Not only that, but I got to be on the cover of a magazine for the first time in my 34 years as an editor. Well, you can’t really tell it’s me—I’m way in the distance—but it’s definitely my canoe! The Collins-Laines live on a beautiful little lake where I keep my boat.
Continuing our summer theme, Executive John McAlley sent himself to the toughest golf hole in the U.S., along with a pocketful of his deceased uncle’s ashes. His story is the sweetest golf piece I’ve read in years. And we include a fascinating story of a beekeeper, an excerpt from Hannah Nordhaus’s The Beekeeper’s Lament: How One man and Half a Billion Bees Help Feed America. Throw in a great Adventure In Oklahoma City, and you got yourself a summer.
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03-02-2011
10:47 AM
756 Loves
The Big Theme this month is how the brain works (and, in my case, how it often doesn’t). Like most magazine staffs, we love to argue about what should go on the cover. Our choices narrowed to two approaches: a pixilated photo of Albert Einstein, and a baby. We chose the baby.
The Einstein picture is cool because it’s part of a gallery of barely recognizable historical figures and celebrities. Our brains are able to recognize complex objects like faces with very little data. The eyes see stuff, and the brain fills in any gaps. Still, the baby won out because—well, because it’s a baby, but also because babies are much smarter than we give them credit for. Veteran writer Nat Reade spent some quality time with Kevin Nugent, a pioneer in baby-speak. He helps parents interpret what their newborns are trying to say. Which, it turns out, is a lot.
Besides talking babies, another issue highlight is an Adventure in Houston; check out Discovery Green, one of the coolest parks anywhere. The city has gained more jobs than any other, and it boasts the second-highest concentration of Fortune 500 headquarters. These HQs are full of people dying to sound like NASA on conference calls. (“Hello, this is Houston…”)
Oh, and if you’re reading this issue, don’t miss Mike Darling’s Business Idea. His big idea: retailers offering fewer choices, not more. Read it and you’ll see why.
Now for The Numbers: A bee produces just 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime. The can opener came nearly 50 years after the tin can. And the average amount of money left by the tooth fairy: $3. Wow. That’s a lot of rich, toothless kids.
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Boy, did we have a problem at Spirit, Southwest’s award-winning inflight magazine. Southwest likes to “own the holidays,” which meant that the good people we work with at the airline really wanted to see us do something romantic and Valentine-y for February. Fair enough. But with the Super Bowl coming to Dallas, home of Love Field and the LUV airline—not to mention America’s biggest mega-stadium—we really felt the urge to do something on football.
Not only that, but the guy who likes to think of himself as our boss, Craig Waller of Pace Communications, told us the magazine would be distributed to Super Bowl attendees in hotels throughout the city.
Football or romance: which would it be?
“Both,” I announced, having no clue what I was talking about. “We’ll do both.” To their credit, the staff at Spirit took that idea and ran for a touchdown. The highlight of the issue is a massive, illustrated timeline showing love and football through the ages—from Vince Lombardi’s aborted honeymoon in 1940 (to coach high school football) to Tom Brady’s new baby with supermodel Gisele Bundchen. Love is definitely in the air this month. With a spiral. For those lucky enough to attend the Super Bowl, we offer detailed adventures in Dallas, custom-made for individual tastes. And we show what it’s like to move to Dallas. Plus, throughout the issue you’ll see our Spirit Follow-up System, or SFS, which gives you new ways to interact with the magazine, online and off. And now for the beloved Numbers: Americans will eat 160 million Hass avocadoes on Super Bowl Sunday. Women purchase more than 80% of Valentine cards. And 8 presidents never attended college.
Nor did any of them play football.
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Because it’s the season to be jolly, we Spiritistas have made it a holiday tradition to feature cocktails in December. I mean, how could Spirit magazine not have spirits? This year we get you in the mood for the holidays with tiki drinks—you know, umbrella drinks like Zombies and Planter’s punch. According to our tippling correspondent, Sarah Murphy, tiki bars are in again. Three high-profile pubs in New York alone are serving tropical drinks now, and you can order from a menu of 200 rum varieties at San Francisco’s Smuggler’s Cove. So put on your very best Hawaiian shirt if you’re flying Southwest this December. Regular readers know that, along with the purely fun, we like to serve up a meaty non-fiction narrative about someone who isn’t famous but deserves your attention. This month we profile Carolyn Stern, a physician who happens to be deaf. Some months ago, Nat Reade told me that he had been looking into deaf doctors. He speculated aloud that there might be a story in it. “I wonder if one of them can teach us something about listening,” I replied, not having a clue what I was talking about. It turns out that Dr. Stern has a lot to teach the rest of us about listening. Also in this issue: a personalized adventure in Nashville (make your own record for 15 bucks!); Life Apps on cold remedies; football watching; charities; our famous dollar-bill origami; and, of course the Numbers: 70 percent of people don’t mean it when they apologize. Everything in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” would cost you $87,403. And a soccer player runs six miles in an average game. The thought of it makes me want an umbrella drink.
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Depending on your philosophy of life, the guy on the cover is either one of the luckiest men in America, or the least lucky. It says a lot about Patrick Waller that he puts himself in the first category. After 16 years of wrongful imprisonment, DNA evidence set the man free. How would you feel? The theme of this issue, Second Chances, explores new leases on life. In times like these, we need to be reminded that America is the land of try, try again. I keep hearing from readers who say they’re surprised by the sorts of stories we do in Southwest’s inflight magazine. Where are the celebrities gushing about restaurants? After all, our last few covers showed a service dog, a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, a new American citizen, and an exploding sandwich. Actually, we do put celebs on the cover now and then. (The mail on Brad Paisley reminded us of how “fan” comes from the word “fanatic.”) But we find people like Patrick Waller at least as interesting. And not just him. Also a well-to-do woman from Houston who finds a new life in Marfa, Texas. Also Senior Editor Mike Darling’s Uncle Sam, who’s fighting a joyous battle against multiple forms of cancer. Also a guy who misses a chance to connect on a plane with the love of his life, and then gets another chance. Also Nelson Mandela, Lance Armstrong, Steve Jobs, and Tina Turner—comeback champions, every one. You’ll find them all in this issue. I like to tell writers that our best stories make people laugh, then cry, then hug the stranger in the next seat. (Being an untouchy-feely New Englander, though, I kind of hope my seatmate hugs the person on the other side.) When so much of the media devotes itself to scaring its audiences, demonizing enemies, and fetishizing celebrities, we’d like to offer a temporary oasis from all that. One that makes you feel good about humanity for a while. Sort of the way a certain airline does it.
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08-04-2010
09:10 AM
113 Loves
Warning: Don’t even think of reading our latest issue of Southwest’s inflight magazine, Spirit, while you’re hungry. The cover alone—a floating club sandwich in which you can see every luscious ingredient—had the whole staff drooling for weeks. If you’ve already eaten, then your brain will be functioning enough to wonder how we managed to create a sandwich that looks as if it’s floating in space, with even the mayo drifting over the hovering bread. Our favorite studio photographer, Adam Vorhees, has been experimenting with “exploded” shots, in which he takes objects apart and puts them—almost—back together. The effect is astonishing. Meanwhile, senior editor Mike Darling interviewed the greatest experts on bread, meat, cheese, condiments, local specialties, new classics (cubano, torta, banh mi), and what your favorite sandwich says about you. We even give you a chance to show off your ’wich-making skill: celebrity chef Tom Collicchio and the geniuses at ’wichcraft are judging a national contest. The winning sandwich maker wins a round-trip on Southwest for two to New York, three nights at the Residence Inn at Times Square, dinner for two at Riverpark, and a tour of New York city’s food markets with ’wich chef Sisha Ortuzar. You’ll find an entry form here. As a vigorous contrast to sandwiches, we include an extended book review by one of our contributors, writer/adventurer Peter Heller. His latest book, Kook, is a love story about a beginning surfer who found the answers to life, and the woman of his dreams, during a crazy, wave-borne quest. If you haven’t read any Peter Heller yet, go straight to the bookstore or Amazon. This month’s “Adventure In…”, which lets you choose the ideal trip suited to your personality, just happens to cover Peter’s hometown, Denver. Assistant Editor Lauren Parajon, who wrote the story, says you haven’t lived till you’ve petted a porcupine, ridden a horse through a ghost town, or paraglided from Lookout Mountain. Finally, a number from “The Numbers” department: Cows with names produce 68 more gallons of milk over 8 months than anonymous cows do. So find a cow with a name and make yourself a sandwich.
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07-01-2010
11:27 AM
99 Loves
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.
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06-01-2010
12:40 PM
84 Loves
An eyebrow or two may go up when you see the new issue of Spirit, Southwest’s inflight magazine. First, it’s super-big—220 pages big. Second, the image on the cover isn’t your typical cover photo. It shows a soldier lying brow to brow with a beautiful black Labrador, who’s wearing a “Service Dog” harness. The accompanying story by Kate Silver, “How Mya Saved Jacob,” will blow you away. We asked Kate to write the story from the point of view of Mya, the amazing dog on the cover. This sweetheart learned 82 basic commands from an inmate at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, a women’s prison in upstate New York. Mya is part of the “Puppies Behind Bars” program that’s doing amazing work in rehabilitating both inmates and veterans. Jacob, an ex-Marine, is slowly learning to adjust to civilian life after seeing more than his share of horror in Iraq. It took an extraordinary photographer to win the trust of Mya and Jacob, so we sent Tyler Stableford to do a day-long photo session in Colorado. Tyler has won some of the top awards in photography. A former intern of mine, he’s shot a bunch of stuff for Spirit, ranging from Cirque du Soleil to the only pig farmer in Las Vegas. The Mya-Jacob story is part of a big package on dogs that includes 167 ways to love your pet. (One tip: “Anything your dog learns between 8 and 16 weeks, whether good or bad, becomes her permanent knowledge.”) Don’t have a dog? Check out our giant table, which helps you choose the right breed for you. And now for Spirit’s beloved Numbers: A “jiffy” equals 10 milliseconds—the time it takes for light to travel 1 centimeter. The Pentagon contains 17.5 miles of corridors. The oldest piece of chewing gum is 5,000 years old. (Yes, it has human teeth marks.) And the 16 largest American hotels are all in Las Vegas. The pig farmer lives elsewhere.
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04-29-2010
03:11 PM
244 Loves
Here at Southwest Airlines Spirit magazine, we sometimes get asked why we don’t put more big-shot types on the cover. We do put celebrities on the cover, occasionally; the first issue I worked on had the great Tony Bennett. But just as Southwest is different from other airlines, Spirit is different from other magazines. Our motto is Simple, Useful, and Fun. Any celeb who wants to get in front of our 3 million monthly readers has to fit that motto; and while a lot of famous people are way fun to watch (especially when they’re not trying to be fun!), how many Hollywood types are simple or all that useful? That’s why I love the cover of our latest issue. It shows Mike Rowe, host of the show Dirty Jobs, covered with honey and bees and sitting next to a bear. Now, there’s a man who earns his propers. He’s a perfect fit for us—not into fake prestige, a hard-working guy who loves his work. Now that the economy is showing signs of life, and employers start talking about hiring again, we decided to dedicate much of the May issue to work. We don’t tell you how to get ahead, exactly. (For some reason, I haven’t yet managed to make my first billion myself.) Instead, we explore how the happiest people find their “calling”—their real purpose in life. Don’t miss Chris Schulz’s amazing story about how she followed a voice in her head that turned out to be a real person and that led to a rock band, a tiny town in Mississippi, and the love of her life. And now for the Numbers: Americans drink 400 million cups of coffee per day. Babies don’t tear up till they’re 3 months old. The most ever paid for a lock of Elvis’s hair: $11,500. And Vanna White claps 720 times per episode of the Wheel of Fortune. Talk about your hardworking celebrity!
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04-06-2010
01:43 PM
113 Loves
Whenever I interview candidates for an editorial job at Southwest’s Spirit magazine, the conversation eventually gets around to the perks: yes, you do get to travel. No, not all the time. Yes, the job is amazingly fun—if we don’t have fun, the readers won’t. Yes, you actually get paid. Case in point: For a story in this issue, Brad Cope, our executive editor, assigned himself to cover the Oasis of the Seas, the biggest cruise ship ever. It’s standard procedure for an editor to claim it was more work than pleasure. “I’m not the cruising type,” he told his officemates, unconvincingly. He even brought along a copy of Aristotle’s Ethics for his reading pleasure, which some of us thought was coming it a bit high. He rode a zip line, almost scaled a climbing wall, strolled in “Central Park,” hung out in an elevator bar—and, yes, he had fun. Of course he did. Sadly, Brad left us this month for another job. No, he did not run off to sea. He now works as a marketing director at a healthcare company. We’ll miss you, Brad. You’ll want to use this issue to do some cruise planning of your own. In a big package called “Cruise Control,” we name the best cruise lines for particular fun, offer advice from experts, and dole out the stats we’re always so fond of. (Size of the cruise market this year: $26.8 billion.) Being a New Englander myself, I made sure to balance all that indulgent fun with an essay on the Puritans. Those grim old Yankees knew a secret to living well: Don’t seize opportunities. “Improve” them. That’s how the huckster P.T. Barnum turned a dead whale into a free vacation. (Jobs at Spirit magazine didn’t exist then.) Okay, more cool numbers, this time from our department appropriately named “The Numbers”: A baseball contains 330 yards of yarn. America’s priciest cocktail costs $10,000 (a diamond engagement ring lies at the bottom of the glass). The longest word in the dictionary, Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconoisis, contains 45 letters. And a ten-gallon hat holds three quarts. Man, we’re not just fun. We’re educational.
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03-10-2010
04:05 PM
112 Loves
Spirit, Southwest’s inflight magazine, is doing a big feature on dogs in early summer. Send us your very best dog photo—adorable or hilarious, portrait or candid, contemplative or mid-air, with or without the owner—and we’ll publish the best. Unleash your creativity, then go to www.spiritmag.com and follow the directions.
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03-08-2010
09:10 AM
135 Loves
We have a really young staff of editors at Southwest’s Spirit magazine, which probably means they think I’m really old. When we first began discussing this issue’s cover story on “Last Tech”—yesterday’s cool, no-longer-new technology—I got all excited telling them about the Super Ball (now spelled “SuperBall”). I was ten years old in 1965 when this amazing invention first hit the stores. A different era. (For one thing they didn’t do that annoying, Internet-friendly WordSmooshing.) I told the Spirit staff that Wham-O (neat-o name!) made the ball well worth its high price tag of 99 cents. My brothers and I each bought one as soon as it came out, and we talked Mom into backing the car out of the garage so we’d have a place to throw them. Heaving them all at once, we suddenly found ourselves immersed in a physically impossible science experiment, like Schrödinger’s cat. The three balls seemed to multiply as they caromed off the walls, filling the entire space with hard whizzing objects. Inevitably, I got beaned. It stung like crazy. So I threw the offending ball as hard as I could in hope that my brothers would get hit as well, which they did. It was the coolest toy ever. Those were the days when the highest of high-tech toys could be thrown at, or in dangerous proximity of, your brother. Sure, now you can blow up his avatar on a videogame; but believe me, it’s not the same thing. After rejecting my contribution, the staff listed “obsolete” objects like the drinking fountain, blackboard, wine cork, payphone, hotel key, product manual, photo film—all yesterday’s news. Almost literally yesterday. What does that say about the coolness half-life of the iPad? Our story should give you a clue. Also in this issue: a funny, enlightening story by Manny Howard, who established a farm in the middle of Brooklyn and fed his family with it for a year. His book, My Empire of Dirt, comes out next month. Speaking of nature, this month’s dollar-bill origami project (“Folding Money”) is a squirrel. Customers on Southwest flights are already pretending to feed them peanuts. Now, that’s technology I can get my hands on.
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01-05-2010
01:33 PM
150 Loves
Magazine covers can be like Rorschach blots. Take the January issue of Southwest’s Spirit magazine. Some people found our photo of figure skater Johnny Weir to be totally cool. Some thought it looked as if he was just about to cut his nose off with an ice skate. Talk about edgy. We spoke with Weir about his big attempt at an Olympic comeback. People were touting him for a gold in the last Olympics, and he ended up in fifth. Last year he even quit skating for a couple of months. And who talked him back onto the ice? His mom, of course. Can’t wait to see how he does in the U.S. championships this month. I’m also excited about a new monthly feature in the Fun section called Folding Money. It’s an origami project that uses paper currency. The idea is to break out of the magazine’s two dimensions and get people folding pyramids and other stuff with their pocket money. Which will get more people pulling their magazines out of seat pockets to see what the fuss is all about. Which in turn will get them so excited, they’ll send their creations to me at Pace Communications. I’ll take any currency. Another highlight this month is a big package on “destination food”: eateries so good they’re worth traveling to—or, in the case of the trendy gourmet food trucks, travels to you. We editors drove the art staff crazy, trying to get them to cram as much info as possible into the package—kind of like the way some of us eat—while urging them to leave space for lavish photography. Writer Sarah Murphy went from the sublime (the homemade hot dogs at The Butcher Shop in Boston) to the, um, airy (Me N Yu in Washington, DC, where the chef’s tasting table is in a giant bird cage suspended over the main dining room). To lose the weight you gain at these places (not to mention the pounds we all acquired over the holidays) while improving your health, our Life Apps section includes an “Activator” with useful, research-based advice. For instance: Keep a food journal (it can double the amount of weight you lose). Get a buddy to go to the gym with you (it increases feel-good endorphins). And see a doctor before you try to quit smoking (it improves your chance of success by 70 percent). Now, excuse me. I have some fruitcake to work off.
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As proof of what a serious journalistic enterprise Spirit Magazine is, check out the December cover. To highlight our “Hot Fun in the Wintertime” package, we did not stoop to putting some totally hot swimsuit model on the cover. Instead, we chose totally hot swimsuit model AND SURFER Marisa Miller. We asked her to give us beginners some tips on how to stay up on the board. Her easiest advice, at least when you’re talking to her: Don’t look at your feet. I personally got myself into hot water with my editor’s note. Up until the early 20th century, I pointed out, doctors believed that diseases resulted from an imbalance of elements—earth, air, fire, and water—in the form of bodily juices—black bile, blood, yellow bile, and phlegm. Whatever elements predominated in you were supposed to determine your character. As an example, I mentioned that my wife Dorothy is a yellow-bile type. I meant that in a good way. That type loves the sun but isn’t keen about water, especially the frozen variety. I didn’t show her the column before it printed. She didn’t find it as funny as I did. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still happily married. But these yellow-bile people can be pretty sensitive. Less controversial is this month’s Life Apps section, which includes a Decidificator that helps you choose holiday movies, a Libationator on America’s best beers, an Agonizer with the latest health research, and a Drinkatron that serves up a beet-red martini. Here’s to a great season, and let nothing you dismay. Jay Heinrichs Editorial Director
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Want to know my favorite part of Southwest’s Spirit magazine? You don’t? Well, I can’t resist telling you anyway: It’s the upfront section called “The Numbers.” In the November issue, we learn the following very important stats: You use 100% of your brain. New Orleans was the No. 1 fast-growing city last year. We flub 6% of all spoken words. The average American keeps a car for 56 months. 17% of us respond to spam. The editor who digs that stuff up, Mike Darling, says the hardest part of doing that department is getting genuine, verifiable information. “You don’t just Google this stuff,” he says. “I try to keep up on the latest research. And I read a lot.” And boy, does he know a lot. The department getting the most raves from readers, though, is our Life Apps section—sort of like iPhone apps, only on paper. The art staff keeps coming up with new apps, like the Agonizer (on health), Gridifier, Snackatron, and Drinkatron. The Drinkatron was originally called “Cocktail,” but when we created the new Life Apps section, we didn’t have anyplace to put that page. So Brody Price came up with an amazing infographic that shows you at a glance how to mix a drink. Other magazines are already plagiarizing it. We’re deeply honored. We also have a fairly new department called Business Idea. I usually write it myself, but this time I managed to foist it onto a better writer: Chris McDougall, author of the current smash bestseller Born to Run. If you watch Jon Stewart, you may have seen Chris talking about his book—a mix of adventure tale, exposé (about running shoes), and hilarious personal health story. You have got to read this book, and not just because Chris wrote the story for me for free (because I’m supposed to write the column, there was no budget to pay him). But our cover package is all about winter and why it should be your favorite season. OK, maybe not your favorite, but a cut above fall. You’ll love Nat Reade’s sweet, funny story about organizing a family Olympics in Lake Placid. “We are no longer your parents,” Nat told his two young boys. “We are your opponents. And we are going to crush you like bugs!” Doesn’t that just warm your heart?
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10-01-2009
12:42 PM
147 Loves
Here at the Dallas office of Southwest’s Spirit magazine, we all work in cubicles—including me, even though there’s a beautiful private office I could use if I wanted to pull rank as editorial director. One reason is so I can hear the did-you-know stuff when an editor gets off the phone; as in, “Did you know that Flight of the Conchords has the 13 bestselling ringtones?” Or, “Did you know that Portland, Oregon has the nicest drivers?” (You’ll see both for yourself in the new issue.) I also love seeing the UPS guy when he walks through the door with giant packages. He brought us the coolest laptop luggage you’ve ever seen—and will see on page 36 of the October ish. Unlike most magazines of our type, the editors write almost all of it, using very few freelancers. That way we can balance the editorial to meet the needs of readers. Plus, I’m selfish. If I’m curious about something, I don’t want to let somebody else have all the fun reporting it. For instance, for my “Business Idea” column this month, I got to ask a question so wacky I wouldn’t dare foist it on a freelancer: What would happen if we rebranded nurses—I mean, called them something different? I talked to doctors, nurses, health care experts, marketers, and visited one of the world’s top branding agencies in New York. The answers I got surprised me, and they’re relevant to today’s healthcare debate. Plus I met a couple of “namers,” guys who earn their living coming up with names like “Verizon” (combining veritas, which is Latin for truth, with “horizon”—corporatese for “cool metaphor”). Nell Lake wrote our cover story on the people who are most likely to save the earth’s environment: geeks. Naturally, we put our favorite geek on the cover: Rainn Wilson. Besides playing Dwight Shrute on The Office, he’s been on the cover of Geek magazine—twice!—and received People magazine props for “sexiest geek.” And, no, that’s not a contradiction in terms. Ask my wife.
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You know how people love to brag about how work-stressed they are? I’m like everybody else that way, which, frankly, is pretty much a flat-out lie. For example, I’m writing this on my lunch hour. How noble of me. What I won’t usually tell you is that I’m writing this with my feet up on my desk and a Snickers Bar in my mouth while playing Brad Paisley really loud on the computer. (It’s research. We’re aiming to make him our cover boy for August.) I also won’t tell you that I tend to take ridiculously long lunches, nap frequently, and play games on my iPod Touch when I get writer’s block, which is whenever possible. All of that makes me an authority on this month’s cover theme, relaxation. But I’m a piker compared to Will Arnett, the good-looking star of “30 Rock” and “Arrested Development” who appears on the cover. He talked to our celebrity wrangler, J. Rentilly, about the baby he just had with wife Amy Poehler. Which doesn’t exactly sound relaxing, right? Well, that’s what makes him an expert on relaxation. He admitted to hitting back-to-back snowmen in golf-- eight shots per hole—a few times. “But the more shots I take, the more bang I’m getting for my buck,” he told us. With such a positive attitude (and enough income to hire an army of nannies), babies are a snap! Not content with Will’s advice for handling stressful situations such as being abducted by aliens (offer to sell them France), we also talked to a slew of more traditional experts and got one of my favorite writers, Steve Friedman, to describe the totally type-A way he set about learning yoga. In the same issue, we sent Assistant Editor Amanda Trimble to chill out in Chicago. If you haven’t been to Chicago in the summer, you may not know what a great beach town it is. Yes, beach town. But Amanda went during the winter months, when the wind from Lake Michigan makes you really chill. All the more reason to enjoy laid-back places like the Green Mill Jazz Club and heart-warming (if not burning) food like Hot Doug’s hot dogs with neon-green relish. But we’re just getting started, relaxation-wise. On July 1, we launch an innovative new section called “Life Apps,” geared toward the business traveler. What’s so relaxing about that? Let’s just say that one of the apps each month will be a cocktail. I tried two of our upcoming drinks with the Spirit staff last night. Way after hours, too. Not to brag or anything, but we just never stop working. Other things you can learn from this issue: 43% of us want to live in Denver. Bacon makes an excellent cocktail garnish. To detect a lie, note how often the speaker uses stalling techniques like “umm” or “you know.” Your risk of a heart attack is 40% greater if you don’t own a cat. On June 13, Baltimoreans dress up like “Hairsrpay” characters to celebrate Honfest. As in, “Hi, hon.”
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If you’ve seen the current "Cocktail" in the March issue of Spirit, you may wonder why we thought it was a good idea to make a milkshake with Guinness beer, using the recipe from the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas. Personally, I’ve had a Guinness shake—several of them, actually—and it’s really not bad. Plus it greatly exceeds the minimum daily requirements for two important food groups: ice cream and beer. All our drinks are shot by an Austin photographer, Adam Vorhees. Adam is a genius at shooting cold cocktails and frozen substances under hot lights and still making them look cold and frozen. This is actually the second beer-and-ice cream combo we’ve had him shoot. A couple years ago he did a beer float. How did he get the ice cream to look delicious after hours in hot beer? I’m not saying, but I’ll give you a hint: tampons. You’ll find the recipe—for the Guinness shake, that is—on the Spirit web site. Another photographer performed a heroic act for our photo essay on the World Adult Kickball Association, “Not Just for Kicks.” Matthew Rainwaters shot a championship match in L.A. last year, and his photos are dramatic and funny at the same time. The shoot went fine until after the game, when Matthew tried to get some photos of the losing team. They had completely vanished. Apparently, the Valley Girls and the Guy Fawkes Conservatory (the co-ed teams' actual names) take the sport very, very seriously. So am I the only person burdened with post-elementary-school kickball trauma? This month’s cover boy, the Food Channel’s Alton Brown, was much more cooperative. My favorite piece of Brownian cooking wisdom: “You don’t need to put anything on steak; isn’t it enough that the cow died?” Finally, be sure and read our story on brand ambassadors if you haven’t yet. It contains a wealth of information, such as: The hottest category of marketing has to do with roping you and me into physically trying products. Motley Crue is still doing concerts. A coffee roaster for invalids went up for sale in 1851. Bluetooth marketed itself at the 2003 Consumer Electronics show in Vegas by hiring 150 models to walk around in sunglasses, talking to no one. A smashing success. Personally, I’ve tried walking around mysteriously in sunglasses. My kids say I look like an idiot.
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