The one thing I love about Saturday mornings is the opportunity to sit on my deck with a cup of coffee and the newspaper. Ever since I remember I have gotten the Asbury Park Press delivered to my home. When I was a kid, I actually delivered the Press for a while, but I also delivered the Red Bank Register too. That paper has disappeared like so many other news tabloids. I remember going house to house collecting the money and of course receiving a tip for my services. I would deliver the paper everyday and only when I was lucky did my Mom or Dad take me when the weather was poor. Today someone who I have never met speeds down my street and throws the newspaper out their car window. It's like a phantom going through the neighborhood.
With the birth of the Internet, many people feel that it is a waste of money and time to get a newspaper delivered to their front door. I guess I am a bit old-fashioned because I have always had a paper delivered to my house. When I was in the marines I would have newspaper anxiety due to the inability to receive one. Hard to get a paper being on a ship or even a foxhole!
Each weekend, I get both the Asbury Park Press and the New York Times. Reading these papers each morning especially on the weekend is therapeutic. Half my deck is bursting with sunlight while the other half lies in the shadows. If I read both papers all the way through, the sun always sneaks up on me and I then have to either move or get a pair of sunglasses.
Now don't get me wrong, I don't read the entire paper, only the sections that interest me. First I always read the local paper. Depending on if the Mets, Nets or Giants won the night before I always read the Sports section first (if they lose I read that section last...I guess I don't want to repeat the horror.) I like to see if my friends who are high school coaches won their games and of course I check out Point Pleasant Boro's teams since I live in town and my oldest daughter ran X-Country for them.
Then I usually read the front section and see what is happening in the world. I'm always looking out for interesting articles I can use in class. I usually just rip them out then look them up online so I can get a good copy. I also enjoy reading the classified to see if there are anything I can buy. I think someones junk is another's treasure, but don't tell my wife that, she thinks everything is trash if you don't buy it from a store. I actually bought a dining room set from the classified and also bought my Labrador retriever, Magnum who is still with us at the age of 12. I then turn to the opinion/Op Ed pages. I enjoy reading the various commentary from America's pundits. Many of these opinion pieces are also often used in my classroom for discussion purposes. After I'm done with the paper, my wife sometimes picks up the paper and sees holes throughout!
Then I turn to the New York Times. I usually don't agree with what is stated in their paper, but they have taught me alot about the world. Their opinion pages do irk me, but it's good to hear the opposite point of view. It will either change my opinion about a subject or reinforce my beliefs. Then of course I read the book section to see what historical books are being published and of course I check out the Travel section. I read about all the wonderful places that I will one day go and see.
By mid morning, I have read two papers and drank at least 2 cups of coffee. I have been reading newspapers since I was a kid and now I encourage my daughters to read the paper with me. They aren't as enthusiast as I would want them to be, but they humor me by checking out the comics.
Since 2006, more than 160 newspapers have close their doors. Each year thousands of newspaper industry jobs have been lost. Major newspapers like the 146 year year old Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Rocky Mountain Times of Denver have ceased operations with many other newspapers fighting major financial loses. Is my Asbury Park Press or the New York Times next?
My weekend reading ritual is in jeopardy and I don't know when that last weekend will be. I hope they can hang on and I can continue my weekend mornings buried in newspapers.
I'm sure that time will come, but hopefully it will be when I am old and feeble. The thing that really bothers me is that many of my students will never be able to experience a sunny Saturday morning buried in a newspaper. I guess the newspaper will go as did the milkman.
Is this progress or death of a institution that has helped me grow up?
