The more things change, the more they… eh, you know the rest.
It’s a highly abused cliche I cornered myself into pondering recently while rooting around back issues of PHOENIX for spring-event coverage inspiration. More or less randomly, I picked up the March 2016 and 2017 issues – and, woof, Groundhog Day material aplenty.
“You know what? For once, I’m going to let the pictures do the talking. Flip to page 190 to take a stroll down a virtual Top Docs hallway and get glimpses of the dedicated and accomplished healers who’ve defined this issue over the past three decades.”
It started with a photo of my then-toddler-age son that I snapped at a daytime music festival and used to pad the layout in the 2016 spring event feature. I mean, he’s much bigger now, that’s certainly changed… but I do, in fact, plan to drag him to the Innings Festival this weekend, so that’s same-y. Maybe my repertoire of father-son togetherness activities needs expanding.
Then I picked up the March 2017 issue. The first thing I noticed was a cover line about newly elected President Donald J. Trump’s border wall, which struck me as kind of quaint, honestly. Eight years along. Change and sameness swirling into the sky like the tornado in The Wizard of Oz.
One thing that unambiguously changed from that 2017 issue: You’ll find no mention of PHOENIX Dish Fest, a marvelous event that didn’t exist eight years ago but which anchors the food and drink section of the super-rad 2025 Spring Festivals & Events Guide, along with deep dives into music, film, art and other festival-friendly interests this March and April.
You know that journalistic term “burying the lede”? I’m probably guilty of that here, because the above reminiscences were only meant to smoothly set the table for the real editorial matter at hand: Our 30th anniversary Top Doctors issue, which has also inspired some backward-gazing, to the days before I or any of my current teammates worked here, and before Top Docs became our biggest and best-selling annual issue.
You know what? For once, I’m going to let the pictures do the talking. Take a stroll down a virtual Top Docs hallway and get glimpses of the dedicated and accomplished healers who’ve defined this issue over the past three decades. And then peruse the rest of the feature, which I genuinely enjoy producing and feel privileged to be a part of. It’s one of our yearly pillars here at PHOENIX.
After all, a Groundhog Day now and then keeps us sane.
