E EDITOR ’ S NOTE
E EDITOR ’ S NOTE
CRAIG HESTER craig @ isochronmedia . com
REMEMBERING STU HUBBARD
Even the most casual reader of About Time has to have noticed that we haven ’ t published for a while . Firstly , we apologize for this and we are exceedingly pleased to have our first issue in several months in distribution .
The main reason for this hiatus is a deeply saddening one . Gary talks about this in his note as well . About Time lost one of our own this past year -- Stu Hubbard .
I knew Stu for about 15 years , and while I wasn ’ t nearly as close to him as Gary , I considered him a good friend and enjoyed his company immensely . If you knew Stu , you liked him . He was just an all-around good guy . If he could help you , he would . He was generous with this time , his droll wit and sympathetic ear . He let me prattle on more than once about things I ’ m sure he was past tired of hearing about . Stu was also a true watch guy . It was more than just a job for him , just like it is for so many of us . I miss Stu and About Time isn ’ t the same without him .
Stu handled a lot of the heavy lifting here at About Time . Basically , whatever Gary or I didn ’ t do , was on Stu . Under normal circumstances , and at most businesses , the company probably would have found a replacement and moved on quickly .
But these weren ’ t normal circumstances . Stu fell to an aggressive form of throat cancer and his long-time relationship with Gary made a move to another person , well , complicated .
I also have to be honest about Stu . He was a decades-long smoker and I can ’ t imagine that didn ’ t contribute to the cancer that took his life . If I could have gotten him to quit , I would have . But he was long past that mark before I ever met him . I quit myself about 16 years ago . Doctor ’ s tell me now that my risk factors are the same as if I had never smoked .
Losing friends sucks . Losing friends from avoidable illnesses sucks even more . I have a lot of friends who are readers of this magazine . If you smoke , quit . It ’ s not easy . I know . But it could mean one fewer friend I have to lose prematurely in the watch community .
I ’ ll write about watches next time . My heart just isn ’ t in it this go around .
Craig Hester , Editor
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