Loopers in the Wall Street Journal, Stein family included

Holy cow! While the timing is weird, the current Wall Street Journal features a lovely portrait of the Ben and Laura Stein family aboard Have Another Day in Fort Myers. And although the headline writers got a little carried away — yesterday, for instance (and ugh), Ben was replacing the vacuum head system duck valves in his “luxury watercraft” — Panbo readers may enjoy a peek at Stein life beyond all the electronics.

None of the three vessels in the article would normally be called a “houseboat” either, but overall WSJ real-estate columnist Beth DeCarbo did a nice job of profiling the whys and hows of cruising the Great Loop. And isn’t Zak Bennett a fine photographer? Plus I’m pleased that they still seem to be working.

I’m a longtime fan of professional journalism — particularly the craft of reporting what’s known as hard news — but never so much as now. I suspect that you know what I mean, as illustrated by the WSJ list of Most Popular Articles seen alongside the Steins above.

But I’m also newly appreciative of quality “soft news” these days, and respectful that even for a glossy section titled Mansion, DeCarbo did not gloss over issues that the coronavirus pandemic may impose on already challenging pleasures like the Great Loop cruise.

Finally, I express my appreciation for quality newsgathering of all types by buying subscriptions, and hope you all do too. The Wall Street Journal was not on my list of supported media before, but it is now.