I hope you might forgive us a twinge of pride that GREENE Magazine even exists in these challenging times. Our modest publication is evidence that several old bromides still ring true, even when the economy is in serious disarray. Such as:

• Good things come to those who wait (just don’t wait forever).
• When one door closes, another one opens. (But you may have to knock hard).

Enough with the cliches.

Enjoy a softer voice

GREENE is the answer to an urgent question: What do I do next after 40 years of newspapering and journalism when the jobs have disappeared. This isn’t a case of the jobs going somewhere else. They just went away by the thousands, leaving journalists to invent themselves.

Not that there’s any shortage of content or ideas, or places to publish them if you’re a fan of the Internet. But there’s more blather to read than ever; you can watch it, read it, hear it in a variety of ways. You sure don’t have to know anything, or to be able to write well. And while the news cycle operates 24/7, making sense of it is more challenging than ever. In the Information Age, caterwauling has become a career, based on the premise that if you yell loud enough, and are extreme enough, someone will pay attention and maybe even pay you.

Enter GREENE Magazine, with a softer voice. We hope you will stay with us, enjoy good writing, think about a idea or two, and share your own stories. Call it a 21st Century conversation. We want to provide a thoughtful selection of information about gardening and living greener in a wiser, more inviting way that celebrates a more sustainable lifestyle. And although we publish five issues a year, we intend to publish every day online. Hence, GREENEMagazine.us. You’re here or you wouldn’t be reading this. You can find GREENE on newsstands, including Price Cutter, and at the new Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center in Springfield, Missouri’s Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park; school and public libraries, waiting rooms and professional offices, and – we hope – in your home or place of business.

You might even say, “I wish I could live like that.” And then give it a try.

Tell us what works for you; laugh with us; feel better for having spent some time online. Think about a better way to live, learn and enjoy life.