I read two papers this AM with 3 cups of coffee…..let me say it again, I READ TWO NEWSPAPERS  this morning with 3 cups of coffee.  My kids tell me I’m really ‘out of mainline journalism’…..I’m in ‘mail-line journalism…and that is further out.   I’m sad if it is the truth….that the days of newspapers are fading.  Yes, the word ‘sad’ is appropriate.

The better part of my 68 years I’ve shared with a newspaper…..When I was learning to read….the newspaper was always in my home.  Mother and Dad read, and then I read.  Sure, at the age of 10 I wasn’t all that interested in the front page, but there were always the ‘funnies’.  Kind of like learning to iron…..first you start with the hankies and then you move onward to more difficult pieces of clothing. That’s how the newspaper and I made friends.

Then, in high school, sometimes things in my small brain began to gel….I would read something in the paper and low and behold…we’d talk about it in government or history.  Dang!

And now, after all these years, I’m more of an avid reader than ever.  I learn every day…whether it is a joke, a piece of history, a sale, a divorce, a birth, a death, and on and on. LIFE is the newspaper and the newspaper is life.  It tells me the weather, the high school basketball scores, the time of the July 4th parade, the mass at church, the sale at the local dress shop, the fishing report for the local lake, and the local police beat…often and thank goodness, more humorous than scary.

I would be foolish to say the Internet has not proved to be another great spot for the news….I know we can hear it all on local TV stations as well as  CNN and FOX, but that’s not the news I long for….We all live in little areas..they may be inside large  cities or on farms, distant from neighbors, however, we all desire to be close to one another….The local newspaper, whether it is weekly, bi weekly, in the morning or in the evening, binds our hearts, our lives, our dreams, and it extends the hand of friendship to all.

When traveling thru Tennessee, I read about the lives of folks in Nashville, Knoxville, and all the little towns in between.  I look at their housing, their taxes, as well as their squabbles with local, county and state government.  It truly does my heart good to see that we are pretty much the same, regardless of our proximity to one another.  Soccer might be hot in So. California, but football is the game in Louisiana. High school football barely makes it in some western states, however, in Indiana, and the Ohio Valley, the homes are empty on Fri. night cause they are at the game.   In the assisted care facilities…..everyone is in their room…..not cause they feel bad….but in season….it is basketball and football that keeps the lights on late into the night.

And last but not least…I love the ads…Where am I going to find so easily…..the for rent and for sale section, the used car section, the misc. for sale section, the legal announcement section, the inside ads for carpet, granite, hot dogs. 2 for 1, picking fresh blueberries, and the editorial section, including all the letters to the editor.  So much entertainment, so much knowledge, so much life…..and all  available in the paper.

So go ahead, read the Internet, learn that Tiger won his 74th, that the Supreme Court did or did not make the right decision, and the high in Las Vegas will be 104…..but for me, I’ll use it as backup only…..cause it is the paper…..I truly love.