Friday, March 30, 2018

Black and White and Read Occasionally

Recently I've been wrestling with whether or not I should curtail my newspaper subscriptions. As we have for years, we receive the local paper daily and the Sunday New York Times.

Years ago opening the front door each morning and retrieving the news of the world was a small miracle. I turned every page, skimming it all and reading a lot, and my inky fingers were smudgy emblems of gratitude.

These days, though, when headlines are pushed to my phone 24 hours a day, I read a bit of both the local paper and the Times online, listen to the radio in the morning and feel relatively well-informed. Too often my newspapers pile up in the basket untouched before they are used to line the litter box or set out to the curb for recycling. (But never before I pull the Food Section!)

On weeks like this one when a messy DIY home improvement project has taken over our lives, I'm happy I haven't canceled the papers. They have come in very handy in keeping paint off the new floors and furniture. And every day as I spread them out or lift a tray from their protection, I find an article I haven't seen that seems so fascinating that I have to stop what I'm doing and read it.

Obviously? I'm missing a lot.

Perhaps that should be the warning label for life in the 21st century.

1 comment:

  1. Weird, I was just thinking of cancelling my newspaper subscription today. But as you suggest, it just doesn't feel like the right time.

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