“THROUGHOUT THE JOURNEY, THEY’VE BEEN CHAMPIONS FOR ME.”

— Melissa Wade, Orthopedics Care Success Story

For Melissa Wade, not being active is not an option. So, when she slipped on a log while hiking, the injury brought her down emotionally as well. “All I could think was, I’m an active person. I don’t have time to be injured,” she said. After knee reconstruction, Melissa was eager to begin her recovery. Now at nearly 100%, she credits her physical therapists with helping her get there and is looking forward to hiking, biking and being outdoors again. “They were very important to my healing journey. Without them being my champions, or my cheerleaders, I don’t think I could have done it.” Learn more about our advanced Orthopedics Care at BaptistHealth.com/Ortho.

Callon Nanny, musical mind behind Callon B and the Hive, popped up in my in-box a few months ago and introduced himself as a local musician leading a group of other musicians and performers that he thought we might be interested in talking to. Turns out he was absolutely right! The group sounded most interesting and so the story began to take shape as is generally the case with our editorial pieces. We had several conversations about who would do the piece, (i.e., our resident music writer J.T. Crawford), when and where we could get everyone together, how we wanted to style the cover photo, etc. Within those conversations, Callon mentioned his vocalist RedVelvet.

Next thing you know, friends and I are at the new piano bar downtown and a lovely young woman sees us to our table, gets us a creative cocktail, and then graciously brings us some delightful dishes. The piano guys pause for some lively repartee and end with an open invitation for our waiter to take the stage, whereupon we are all enthralled with her amazing voice. She takes a bow and the keyboard guys give a shout-out to their featured guest . . . RedVelvet!

So, in the course of a couple of weeks, RedVelvet and I have connected on a variety of fronts. And in this edition of PADUCAH LIFE Magazine, you’ll have the pleasure of connecting with Callon, RedVelvet and the rest of the talented troubadours that make up The Hive.

Year after year, issue after issue, the lives that create this small part of the world we live in OFTEN come full circle. And after 32 years of publishing Paducah’s feature magazine, we sometimes look back on two generations of stories that we’ve told on our creative pages. These days we’re periodically interviewing the sons and daughters of moms and dads who have appeared in our publication decades prior. When we say we bring the stories to LIFE, we mean that sincerely.

I’m going to do something I don’t think I’ve ever done before. I’m going to conclude with a beginning— J.T.’s lead from the Callon B and The Hive story—because it’s the perfect allegory for the work we do inside the pages of this publication.

“The lifelong process of creating music is much like trying to catch a butterfly with a hole in your net. There may be moments when you have it captured, and the accomplishment of grabbing hold of such beauty fills the soul. Before long, however, it escapes, and the chase begins again. But as you repeat the process, the butterfly grows bigger and more alluring. And it leads you into lands that hold new treasures.”

Stay tuned, dear readers, for all the treasures to come!

Darlene M. Mazzonedarlene@paducahlife.com

by J.T. CRAWFORD