From the Publisher's Desk: Getting into an L.A. frame of mind

Iam way too old and have seen far too much not to believe that everything in life happens for a reason. In recent weeks I’ve felt a warmth and strength from old high school friends as we joined our hearts and minds to rally around a classmate during her valiant struggle against cancer.

Relationships that were seeded in elementary and high school blossomed into genuinely touching e-mails and heartfelt phone conversations. Admit it or not, we all saw Chris’s death (she passed away last Friday morning) as a mirror on our own mortality and it shook us and brought us to our senses.

Despite coming of age with a generation that considered itself invincible, we are finally coming around to accepting that we can’t escape alive. We are all moving in the same direction, and the inevitable has brought out a new sensitivity toward each other. We are growing more comfortable with being honest and forthcoming about our feelings and our fears.