Publisher's Letter - Southern Bella Magazine

Tad Jones

June 7, 2020

“Home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling.”

Cecelia Ahern

The theme of this month’s Bella is expansion. You can find my partner’s editorial and perspective on the idea of expanding from Aiken to the surrounding area on page 3. My perspective on all this is different and in many ways opposite. My story and experience is one more of contraction than expansion.

In my entire life I have never lived in any one location more than four years. I was born in southern Georgia and raised, for the most part, in central North Carolina. I was an Army brat and then spent 20 years in the Army. I have lived in Hawaii, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Korea. I have literally been around the world and back. So I have more than my fair share of perspective and I can honestly say South Carolina is one of my favorite places to live — it has almost anything you and your family would need.

Between the history I mentioned above and the fact the my mother and sisters relocated to the CSRA area over 20 years ago, I have spent a good portion of my life traveling in and around the state of South Carolina. I have long been a fan of places like Columbia and Charleston. Now that I am a permanent resident of the state, I have discovered and love new places like Greenville.

After moving to Aiken about three years ago and posting it to social media, (because, well, nothing is real until you write a post about it …) an old friend responded, “You always said you wanted to live in Aiken.” I will admit that at first I did not understand her response, but apparently, years ago, after a visit to Aiken, I said I would love to live in Aiken someday.

And, as my brother-in-law is fond of saying, I stand by what I said. Recently, Southern Living awarded Aiken the title “The South’s Best Small Town.” Southern Living referred to our town as the “genuine article.” For the record, although it does help, you do not have to ride a horse to live here. As mentioned, I have been around the world and back and I can honestly say that Aiken, from the indoors to the outdoors, offers of the best experiences. With places like Whiskey Alley and The Wilcox, we have some of the finest dining experiences I have had the pleasure of indulging in. And literally just a short walk away you can be in one of the nation’s largest urban forests, Hitchcock Woods. Its stunning scenery covers 2100 acres and 70 miles of trails.

For me Aiken makes the perfect home base from which to explore the state. South Carolina’s size, shape, and location mean you can reach any place our state has to offer in just a few short hours. From mountains to beaches, leave early enough and you can be there by dinner. Just a bit farther down the road and you can be in other great locations like Asheville, Atlanta, Savannah, and Charlotte.

Whether you are coming or going, if you don’t make time for a stop in Aiken, well, bless your heart, you’ve missed out on something special.

Tad Jones

In the know

Psychological Flexibility in the Age of COVID-19

Knowing what we control and what we don’t is a vital part of self-awareness. It has been nearly 3 months since social distancing policies were implemented for South Carolina, and there has been a huge range of personal reactions to the pandemic and to changes in our lifestyles. Nearly everyone has experienced the consequences of job loss, reduced income, and anxiety about the virus and getting sick or dying, to say nothing of adjusting to much more time spent with our families in much closer proximity. National surveys are reporting increases in stress, anxiety, and relationship difficulties. The novelty and uncertainty of the virus have resulted in differences in how

A Mother’s Day Prayer

On this fine spring morning, Lord, an extra special prayer; It should be said on every morning for mothers everywhere, A prayer that You’ll keep filling them with blessings from above, The blessings being the blessings three of faith and hope and love. The faith in You she passed along to me through every year, The faith I cling to every day through laughter and through tears. The faith she lives in how she lives in every little way, The faith she passes on to everyone she sees each day. In hope she brought me to this world, in hope we live evermore, The hope we hold which places us

Getting a Good’s Night Rest during a Pandemic

Sleep Despite Uncertainty There are few things as necessary to feeling good, but that can be so negatively impacted by daily stressors, as getting a good night of sleep. Sleep problems were already elevated prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, with at least 38% of South Carolinians reporting short sleep duration (<7 hours/night) per the Centers for Disease Control. The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with social isolation and the resulting economic downturn, has resulted in increased anxiety, stress, depression, and sleep problems. It is well known that changes in routines, job uncertainty, financial pressures, and increased interpersonal demands (beginning homeschooling, for example) are important factors in the growing mental health concerns around

Horses Past and Horses Remembered

Wishing There Were More I have always loved animals. Always. The household in which I grew up was pet friendly, barely. Mom kept parakeets, but not for long. Most escaped through the kitchen window after serving a brief sentence of confinement in a toy-less cage in the pantry off the kitchen. Dad kept tropical fish. That hobby was short-lived when he decorated the tank with rocks he had brought home after a vacation to Yellowstone National Park. I highly recommend the trip. However, placing the mineral-laden, but beautiful, rocks in the tank with your tropical fish is not conducive to fish longevity. The left-over tropical fish food was sold at