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WORKING THROUGH IT
Okay, okay. I admit it. For the first time since my arrival at Business Monthly, I have contracted a full-blown case of “editor’s note block.” Thoughts and observations that had previously come so easily have vanished into thin air. Inspiration has taken a vacation.
It is a problem that caught me by surprise. During my many years working for newspapers, writer’s block was never an issue. There simply was never enough time with the pressures of daily journalism. However, I learned long ago that in the throes of procrastination there’s only one thing to do: make excuses.
Maybe it was the busyness of the buildup to AmCham’s annual DoorKnock mission to the United States and the post-departure calm. But that was soon mitigated by the visit of US Special Trade Representative Ron Kirk, who assured those in attendance at an AmCham special luncheon on March 23 that the Obama administration is committed to continuing and strengthing bilateral trade activities. And then there was the vacuum left when the US Congress finally passed and President Barack Obama signed health-insurance reform legislation. (What will we Americans argue about now?)
Weather can be a terrific excuse, and I was primed to use it during that sweltering stretch in early March when temperatures approached 38 degrees Celsius. But then it cooled off, and the heat was on to produce. To make matters worse, the balmy stretch brought blooming hollyhocks, bougainvillea, hibiscus and jacaranda. With the sights and scents of spring, even a late-middle-aged man’s thoughts turn to almost anything except editor’s notes.
Or perhaps it was the arrival of Mother’s Day (which caught me unaware since in the US it is traditionally celebrated on the second Sunday in May), with its shopping for gifts and dinners with family and friends.
Thankfully, writer’s block does not appear to be contagious, and this issue of Business Monthly reflects another solid effort by the magazine’s editorial team. Rashad Mahmood’s cover story on biotechnology in Egypt is informative and surpising at both the economic and scientific levels. Tamer Hafez examines the country’s debt market and how it might be manipulated to strengthen Egypt’s economy, while Sarah Marquer reports what has – or hasn’t – been happening with regard to the government’s announced intention to liberalize Egypt’s nitrogen fertilizer sector. Finally, Louis Wasser investigates the relationship between the country’s electricity-generating capacity and natural gas.
There. I’m feeling better already.
Bertil G. Peterson
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