Nathan Payne

Apparently a “unique” fashion sense is hereditary, maybe even a dominant gene. Or at least that’s what I’m beginning to believe as our sons grow older and the arrival of another spring brought with it an eruption of new style choices. Don’t get me wrong, my wife, Kate, and I historically have taken a bit of a free-range parenting approach to our children’s clothing choices. We’re often more concerned about the cleanliness and function of their apparel than the colors and patterns.

Payne I can’t stop the tears. Not today, not tomorrow and not next week. Someday, maybe, when the pain, grief and emptiness subside. The first ones fell last Sunday morning as I pressed play on a voice message from a Ukrainian journalist, Nieman fellowship classmate and beloved friend. Her voice shattered with terror and grief as she explained that our friends, journalists Brent Renaud and Juan Arredondo, had been shot while riding in a car through a checkpoint in Irpin, a suburb of Kyiv.

Payne I can’t stop the tears. Not today, not tomorrow and not next week. Someday, maybe, when the pain, grief and emptiness subside. The first ones fell last Sunday morning as I pressed play on a voice message from a Ukrainian journalist, Nieman fellowship classmate and beloved friend. Her voice shattered with terror and grief as she explained that our friends, journalists Brent Renaud and Juan Arredondo, had been shot while riding in a car through a checkpoint in Irpin, a suburb of Kyiv.