by Dan Prowse Whicker
As a writer, I typically avoid the use of idioms. But recently, while publisher Friedrich Jaeger was expertly luring me into deeper involvement with TOTI Media and I began learning about the history of his publications, one idiom kept coming to mind: Time flies when you’re having fun.
As one of the feature stories in this issue details, Friedrich’s fifteen-year publishing ride has had its ups and downs. But the ups have always seemed to overshadow the downs. That is likely the result of Friedrich’s philosophy of always ensuring that the work is fun.
In fact, when you talk to him, you are instantly drawn to his positive attitude and sincere warmth. Friedrich has a way about him that makes it hard to say no, but it’s not due to any crafty salesmanship or overconfidence. He simply invites you along for the ride, and you just know that it is going to be a good one.
Fifteen years does not seem like a long time—that is, until you start thinking about how far you have come. In 1996, I was just starting out in graphic design at a small newspaper on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. I had been married for two years, and career-wise, I was starting to find my niche with design, writing, and photography. I guess that is when the publishing bug first bit me.
The mid-1990s was definitely a time of transition. The Internet was really taking off, and my newspaper was just finishing its move from the old cut-and-paste way of laying out publications to the exclusive use of desktop computers.
Sometimes it’s fun to think back on those days and to try to remember what you envisioned about the future. If you are like me, there is no way that you could have predicted what you would be doing today. So much living happens as the years roll by, and so many changes occur when we are not even looking.
Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus said that nothing is permanent, except change. If the mid-1990s was a time of transition, the early 2010s is definitely a time of change. In the world of publishing, digital media is threatening to overtake traditional paper publishing as people become more accepting of the technology. Publishers like TOTI Media have one foot in each arena, seeking to meet the needs of all audiences with content that is relevant and entertaining, whether you are viewing it on an electronic reader or flipping the pages of a printed magazine.
In whatever way that you read this issue, you are sure to enjoy what you find inside. Stories focus on everything from the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Sanibel Shell Fair & Show to the native vegetation that gives the islands so much natural charm. We invite you to lose yourself in these pages and to forget the passage of time for a little while as you’re absorbed into this issue’s stories of Southwest Florida and beyond.