I'm a Connie Schultz fan. Have been for many years. So when Associate Editor Jennifer Haliburton - of whom, incidentally, I'm also a fan - proposed doing a story on Connie for this issue, it was an instant sale. For an editor, it just doesn't get any better than this: great subject, great writer.

In the case of Connie Schultz, both descriptions apply. She is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, but to limit your assessment of her accomplishments to the award is to seriously understate what she has done.

Long before she won the Pulitzer, Connie was widely respected for her outstanding abilities as a writer and reporter with heart. The quality of her prose in a story about a man wrongly convicted of rape, for example, was so moving that the real rapist came forward and confessed. And her magnificent series, "Losing Lisa" - which chronicled the final months in the life of a cancer victim - helped countless readers and their families to face and understand similar tragedies in their own lives.

Needless to say, she is among the best of the best. As a result, she has received her share of well-deserved acclaim. And then she went and married a guy who managed to make something of a name for himself, too. He was elected to the United States Senate.

Here's an inside secret: In our cover meetings this month, we spent an inordinate amount of time discussing how we would refer to Connie's husband, Sherrod Brown. After all, the story is about her, not him. But as in any good marriage, you can't fully know and understand one without knowing and understanding the other. Besides, hey, let's face it: The seats of the U.S. Senate are no place for slouches.

It is a big deal that Connie is married to our newest senator. Yet to use cover language that might suggest her thoughts and ideas are only from the perspective of her life as his wife would be, once again, to understate what she has done.

See the cover for our solution to the dilemma. We're pleased with how we handled it, but we know that when it comes to Connie Schultz, any few words are inadequate. For 2,500 or so more.

 

Speaking of the cover, please note that we also make a pretty big deal about "Home & Garden" this month. That's because you have told us it is a pretty big deal to you. Starting this month, we have expanded the name - and the content - of our former "Home" section to reflect your interest in gardens. We hope you'll stop and smell the roses,