Like many, I have been fighting the flu. I have found it a good time to catch up on reading my trade magazines. As a pet retailer, I get three a month. They pile up. . . three becomes six, six becomes nine, nine becomes a chore. I feel I need to read them to stay on top of what you, the consumer, is doing (shopping on smart phones, big box or hopefully local); what my industry is lobbying (puppy mills, internet sales tax, credit card swipe fees, Main Street fairness); what my manufacturers are introducing (foods, toys, shampoos) and updates on trade shows I attend (Chicago, Las Vegas, Orlando). While it is a chore to read them all at once, I find I have friends in those pages. I read the same columnists every issue and I have learned their passions and their personalities. One in particular, Dave Ratner, I gravitate to. He's funny, witty and smart. I have resorted to emailing him for counsel on occasion. From his award winning monthly columns and the success of his independent Massachusetts stores, he has risen in the trade and is now on the board of directors of the National Retail Federation. He tells of meeting in Washington with CEOs of Macys, Neiman Marcus, Saks, BJs Wholesale Club and the Home Shopping Network. He says it is a thrill for a small business guy like him to hang out with some titans of industry and that actually he is the popular guy since he is the only pet person. (Don't I always say pets make you smile?)

It is a new year and my first column for 2013. Perhaps some of you are new readers of The Broad Ripple Gazette. I have been on board here for five years or so. The columnists here have their own unique passions and personalities and like my literary friend Dave Ratner and me, many of them are also small business owners. They live and/or work in the Broad Ripple area. I know them all because I am a faithful reader and have gotten to know them through their writings. I know them personally because our editor, Alan, annually brings us together for a holiday gathering to thank us for our volunteer contributions to the paper. Let me introduce you.

Mario Morone: Mario works the hardest of all of us but has the easiest job. How is that so? The rest of us agonize about what we will write about. We run out of ideas and suffer from brain drain. We have to become creative and we wait until the last minute to meet deadline. We drive Alan nuts (or maybe that's just me). But Mario is the man who has it dropped onto him. Every new business that opens, entrepreneurs, school events, Village Association stories - he's on it. But that means he can't work in his pajamas. He's got to meet people and do interviews. Pictures have to be taken and he has to get it right. His column is not about opinions and commentary. He's the fact guy. He's the reason I read the Gazette. I want to know what's going on here.

Nora Spitznogle: Nora is the social butterfly, or bee that is. She writes the column Buzzing Around Town and boy does she. She makes me dizzy. She covers all the local music happenings and previews events around BR Village. Think about it. Nearly everything happens in BR so she is one busy lady. She has so much to write about that she usually takes a two page spread. She has become a VIP and gets to go behind stage to interview some great entertainment. She thrives on it. She is the director of the not-for-profit Second Helpings. Under her watch that organization has made giant strides and has gained much deserved publicity. She is amazing. I am in her awe.

C.W. Pruitt II: C.W. is a throw back from the past. He is our hippy poet guy. As poets go sometimes you have to be a deep thinker to fully understand their art. He throws out all kinds of subjects, many about what have impressed him in his life. You got to love C.W. even if you don't always understand him. He's the contributor who leaves me wanting more. I'd like to get to know him better.

Laura Minor: Gettin' Ripped in Ripple is Laura's column. She is a bright, pretty, fit woman. She owns So.Be.Fit Personal Training and Fitness Studio. I first met her when I became a client at her studio. I went weekly for about a year. I need to get back at it - it is a new year, after all. Read her column to inspire you to new beginnings. She is bubbly and passionate about good health. Her success led her to upsizing her studio which is located at the 54th Street Shops.

Brandt Carter: Brandt is the one I can relate most to. We are the same age, we have lived and loved BR our whole lives and we could be historians for the community. We remember the same things and that is fun. She tells of her memories and brings you back to the times that were in her column Right in my Own Backyard. She is a nature lover and is an owner of Backyard Birds located at 54th & Keystone. Her column often centers us on the joys of nature and the pleasure of focusing on the small things in life. If you want to raise city chickens, she's your go-to gal. She truly has a fabulous backyard.

Jill Ditmire: Since I am supposed to be focused on the pet theme for my column I have saved introducing Jill last. She writes The Wine Scene. She calls herself the Broad of Ripple. She is a specialist who is an AWS-certified wine judge, traveling for her job to California and Europe. She owns a fabulous store called Mass Ave Wine Shoppe located where else but Massachusetts Avenue. I credit opening my second store on Mass Ave. to Jill. I went down to meet her in person, liked the location and was told by her that the store two doors down from her was closing. I moved in within three weeks. We have become good friends. I have been advising her on what to feed her senior dog as he has slipped into the inevitable decline of old age. We have tried many foods to keep him enticed. Until January 6th I did not know the full scope of her writing skills. On that date she sent me and our editor a lengthy epitaph of her dog Harp who had passed the day before. It was sad, warm, witty and touching. She emailed me again with her toast to the New Year that we should all make. . . . . . "We also made a pact tonight to live life like a dog - full on, with naps, treats, walks and as much unconditional love as we can give and take. Want to raise a glass and join that toast? Peace to all!" Rest in peace Harp. Love to you Jill. You were a great dog mama.