Partners in Crime and Creation - A Letter from Alternatives Co-Founder/Publisher
by Richard Baynton

Dear Alternatives friends, advertisers, readers, writers, supporters, and other brilliant beings,
It is time to bid a fond and grateful farewell. This will be the last issue of Alternatives published by Peter and me. After fifteen years, our passion has passed onto new endeavors, and we can no longer bring to the magazine the energy and dedication that it requires to thrive. Perhaps there is someone(s) reading this issue who does, as I would love to see Alternatives live on. If you are that person, talk to us! It is so much more than simply a magazine with articles and advertising. It’s a network of relationships, a forum for passionate brothers and sisters to express themselves, sharing ideas and forming alliances, a bulletin board of offered goods, services, and events by fellow cultural-creatives, and a showcase for artists’ work on every cover. At the outset, we were committed to subverting the dominant paradigm, one relationship at a time, and in that, I believe we have succeeded nicely.

In the summer of 1996, my friend Peter Moore mentioned to me, over a café in a Salem, Oregon coffee shop, this idea he was working on—creating a magazine based on a study by sociologist Paul Ray that revealed an emerging culture, a creative culture, growing rapidly in this country and around the world. Peter wanted to test Ray’s theory, and was looking for a partner in creation. After a moment’s thought, I said, “I can do that.” Thus we began.

Peter and I have been co-publishers and business partners since that moment. Peter said at the time that he would commit to one year, and then see how it was going. It went well. Our first issue was 40 pages (just like this last issue) and was limited to the Salem area. We soon realized that this quirky, conservative capital city wasn’t going to provide us with enough culturally creative advertisers or readers, so we expanded our reach to Portland, Eugene, Corvallis and the coast. Much better!

Every issue grew steadily from 1997 through 2002, where we peaked at 128 pages, printing 40,000 copies. Peter and I worked together brilliantly, easily, complementing each other’s skills and interests almost seamlessly. We were having a blast, and felt like we were making a difference in our own small way. Then, as a result of 9/11 and other factors, the economy started to sink and advertising sales began to slow down. By 2004, the magazine was no longer providing enough revenue for both of us to solely depend on it for our incomes. We needed another idea! And the universe provided, of course.

Breitenbush Hot Springs was in need of a new business director. Peter was among the first small group of people who co-created the original Breitenbush community back in the 70’s. A perfect match. He applied and was hired. Naturally.

So began the second phase of our little (ad)venture. Peter continued to do all of the article editing, while I took on all of the ad sales, distribution, and the rest. This arrangement lasted until 2007, when I moved to Breitenbush to take over the bookkeeping job here. We’ve been publishing the magazine from Breitenbush since then, while both working full time for Breitenbush. Which brings us to the present time of transition.

Many long-time friends have passed recently. Relationships have shifted to new configurations. Much that was is no more. This is a year of transition on so many levels I can no longer track them all. Sometime soon I’ll be jumping out of an airplane solo for the first time, and freefalling awhile before pulling the ripcord and parachuting to earth. This is the perfect symbol and act for this time in my life—the ultimate in letting go and trusting, while simultaneously taking full responsibility for what I do. For me, it means literally taking my life in my own hands, and being the hero of my own story.

In these days before the big dive, I’ve found myself looking through photos from my past, all the way back to childhood. I guess I’m having my mid-life moment, my break from what is conventionally called the norm, a brief pause in the action.

A very sweet pause indeed. For I am reopening to scenes and sensations I haven’t felt or thought about in years. Revealed in these reveries are places I’ve lived and loved, people who meant so very much to me at one time, and all the brief and extended chapters in my story that have led me here. It’s an invaluable exercise, to review, cherish and then allow to leave behind one’s own past. I can still feel those moments in my cells, the delights and dilemmas, passions and pains, joys and jealousies, all of it weaving into my current moment. And now, as I face another turning of the wheel, it is time to add a new chapter to that deeply personal historical record.

To our beloved advertisers, I’ve so enjoyed meeting all of you, through emails, phone calls, and the occasional face-to-face. One relationship at a time. I’ve come to love and appreciate a great many of you, and I will miss our quarterly contacts. You’ve enriched my life beyond measure by sharing yours. Thank you for supporting Alternatives as we navigated our way through what has been for us the wild waters of the publishing world. You have been a delight and joy to work with.
Peace,
Richard

p.s. As I wrote in an article printed years ago in this very magazine:
Every purchase is political. Every purchase is a vote.
Every purchase affects the environment.
Every purchase is your conscience.
Every purchase is a prayer. Every purchase matters.
Buy local. Buy lovingly. Buy organic.
Live in the world you want to create.
Create the world you want to live in.

Richard Baynton is co-publisher of Alternatives Magazine and a member of the Breitenbush Hot Springs co-op. He tends to stay up late, enjoys sleeping in, loves a good microbrew, and is currently learning how to skydive. He can be reached at info@alternativesmagazine.com.