letter
Flying High
LOVE
Your Carpet
I
did a thing, y’all. I bought plane tickets. To Europe. Paris, specifically. For fun. I know what you’re thinking – I’m out of my mind, right? I was getting ready to book my first trip out of the country ever this time last year and, well, you all know what happened next. But for the first time since then, I’m feeling optimistic! Durham’s COVID-19 case numbers continue to drop, more of my friends and family are getting their first (or second) vaccine doses, and people are still following safety protocols of staying distanced and masked. In fact, there’s a whole movement to get us over the finish line: Back on the Bull. The gist is that we all get vaccinated when it’s available to us, continue to wear masks and support local businesses. I’ve taken the pledge at backonthebull.com – you can learn more about it on page 19 – so join me in making this promise to help Durham’s recovery and renewal. Truth be told, I’ve enjoyed a good bit of this vast amount of time at home. I found myself saying, “Hey, I’ve looked into buying that ceiling fan,” in the Hershfields’ modernist home on page 42 thanks to all the home improvement projects my partner and I have taken on this year. I spent some lazy days with my two cats, Leo and Georgie, though my small pack has nothing on the Combs’ growing brood of pets (page 54). And I fully plan on taking the advice of the landscaping experts on page 60 as we decide what to plant for spring in our very soggy yard. And maybe I’ll take the advice from our staycation article on page 22 and book an afternoon tea at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club in preparation for my European escapade. With so much hope on the horizon, I am ready to say “au revoir” to the despair of the past year and “bonjour” to adventures ahead.
5634 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd., Durham, NC
Beauty, Artistry & Tradition
FOR OVER 40 YEARS
www.persiancarpet.com 6
|
durhammag.com
|
april 2021
T HE COVER
Photo by John Michael Simpson
@amanda_maclaren amanda@durhammag.com