if you’ve been wondering where CLEMATIS Magazine has been for the past eight months, your not the only one. Everywhere I go, I get asked the same question "Are you still doing the Mag " ? Well the answer is yes. I’m actually flattered so many people ask me that question, because what it says is there's a real fan base and hunger for this magazine. South Florida depends heavily on tourism and snow birds for its annual cash infusion. These funds fuel Palm Beach County’s economy and anybody who thinks otherwise must be in space. Every hotel, restaurant, and retail worker depends on our tourism trade. In tough times the trickledown effect compells businesses to downsize and re-evaluate their spending habits. It's basic economics and on 9/11 allmost every US citizen and especially South Floridian's had a refresher course in this bleak reality. With that being said CLEMATIS Magazine fell victim to the terrorists. This attack was not just about killing Americans it was meant to cripple our way of life and economy. It was painful to see so many freinds and clients businesses suffer through those first few months of uncertainty.

“Will we have a Season”? was the question on everyones mind. Will anybody be willing to travel? Nobody knew what was going on and all trade and especially marketing budgets seemed to dissipate overnight. The Anthrax scare certainly didn't help. Fortunatley things seem to be getting back on track. So much has happened over the past year that time seems to have flown by. Our generation witnessed first hand the most horrific atrocity ever carried out via live television. The images of the planes crashing into buildings and people running for their lives may fade, but will never go away. As fate would have it I was there when it happened. I had flown to NYC On 9/10 to attend Fashion Week. This was to be the highlight of my year, the time when I go to 7th on SIX and attend top designer's runway shows and take pictures of supermodels, when I attend amazing celebrity filled parties and re-establish old media contacts. In fact just eight hours earlier I was at designer Marc Jacobs party at Pier 54 having a conversation with MOBY, who said “ today's my birthday “, and then later having a late snack with Perry Farrell and Matt E. Silver in a Tribeca diner. Little did we or anybody else know at that very moment, a group of suicidal hijackers were already putting their plans of mass destruction in motion. A few hours later when I awoke around 10:00 a.m. I found myself transfixed to the TV. I then looked out of the window down onto 3rd Avenue & 3rd street and saw hundreds of dust covered people streaming down 3rd Ave. I then went to the roof and gazed in the direction of the WTC, at a spot where just 2 hours earlier gave a perfect view of both WTC buildings. There I stood and watched as 500 ft. high plumes of smoke billowed up into the bluest sky you could ever imagine. I gazed in bewilderment wondering if a nuclear bomb or some toxic chemical was going to be released. The next few hours were spent contemplating with friends on what to do and where to go. The next day, I along with two other intrepid souls went to ground zero where we passed through the dozen check points using our media credentials. What I saw was absolute devastation. Everywhere, I stepped felt like hallowed ground. I snapped off a few rolls of film and shot some video to document this scene. Because of the potential for inhaling toxic fumes, common sense told us to get out of the city, so two days later we hopped onto the Hampton Jitney and went to a friend’s house in Bridgehamton. As we rode the bus I looked back at the city where the pummelled building's debris continued to smolder. It felt like we were leaving war torn Bosnia. It was around this time I began contemplating on how to get home. Do I fly ? Figuring that air travel would be safer than ever before, that's what I did. Looking back on the experience, I feel blessed to have been in N.Y.C when this happened. I witnessed something in humans that I had never seen before. A true sense of unity that transcended all races and religions, it was a sense of patriotism that made me proud to be an American.

                                                  Sincerely,

                                                  
                                                  Bobby Zeitler
                                                  Publisher /Editor-in-Chief