Newspapers have been around practically forever. Alright, that’s not historically accurate but you know what I mean.
Every morning to you open up your doors to greet a brand new day with your daily news lying there neatly bundled up on the porch. That is if you do not have a dog that enjoys ripping paper up as a form of recreation, and yes, I talk from experience.
Everyone has their own newspaper quirks, some unfold it majestically at the coffee table and read about the world while delicately nibbling on a biscuit, some others might find solace in the printed word sitting on the toilet seat. There are those that enjoy clipping out their favourite articles for a scrap book, though that hobby is unfortunately somewhat antiquated at present. Maybe you are a sports section kind of person, or maybe it’s the politics or the world economy that interests you. Then again maybe you are someone like me who just enjoys browsing through the comic strips.
I admit I’m not the most avid newspaper reader.
Current affairs don’t interest me all that much though I know I ought to have them covered, to make the barest bit of small talk at least. Yet, here I am, with no idea whatsoever about any bills being passed or the latest antics of a local governor. But for a while, it was weekend ritual for me to go get the papers that held the daily crosswords and Sudoku puzzles. My father fills in all the words that he could solve with a hot breakfast beverage and I struggle to fill in the rest of the blanks with my limited knowledge of how crosswords work. I’m more of a Sudoku person myself. While the frustration of staring at those little boxes and searching this way and that for clues to the next number is always a bane, filling it all in is rather an accomplishment. The only one I care to achieve on a lazy Saturday.
It’s a little sad how newspapers are becoming all the more redundant with everything out on the internet for you to scroll through. Maybe one day there will no more paper boys making their rounds at dawn, whistling a mellow tune and dropping off everyone’s papers and magazine subscriptions. Maybe the era of those large sheaves of black and white paper is drawing to an end. But we will always remember them as one of mankind’s best everyday ritual.
