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Jack & Christine Tumpson

Heart & Soul

One of the most amazing parts of life we get to witness is the way things always seem to come together in ways we could never imagine. We focus on doing the best we can with whatever is put before us, and have learned to not take control of the outcome. By doing this, we get to witness miracles.

For our cover we contacted a dear family friend, Pittsburgh native artist, Keith Bendis, with the request that he create a cover relating to Valentine’s Day. In his typical brilliant style, Bendis quickly submitted several options. The cover we chose was the universal favorite; we loved the image of Cupid dropping a heart over the city of Pittsburgh. Little did we know the symbolism it would hold.

Days after Bendis’s submission, we lost one of our favorite people, KDKA-TV’s Yvonne Zanos, who was tragically taken far too early by cancer. In our desire to keep her memory alive, we decided to offer Bendis’s original artwork to those who register, with the hope that those doing so would also make a donation to KDKA’s Turkey Fund in the memory of Zanos. To us, the heart on the cover touched on Zanos’s spirit and love of life.

And then, the earthquake hit Haiti. Pittsburgh has long ties to the island, most notably with the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer and its annual H’Art and Soul of Haiti fundraiser. Within days, the BRESMA Orphanage run by the tremendous McMutrie sisters, Jamie and Ali, of Ben Avon became internationally known. Fifty-three orphans were flown to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. The telephone lines of anyone involved with the orphans crashed as Pittsburgh residents tried to find out how to adopt the children, unaware that most were already in the process prior to the earthquake.

What a city! Such love and compassion and great desire to help is on display in times of trouble. Suddenly, this month’s cover takes on yet another meaning.

Here’s to the Heart of Pittsburgh!
Christine & Jack Tumpson




On the Cover: 
Original artwork by Keith Bendis, keithbendis.com.

Register to win the original cover art in a drawing on February 28.