by Ali Koomen

Created on: December 03, 2010

There are few traditions more satisfying than sitting down at the breakfast table, hot cup of joe in front of you, while reading the morning paper.  Even the ritual of going out to pick up the paper is ultimately satisfying: if the paper is dry and exactly where it is supposed to be, you know it’s going to be a good day.  On the other hand, if the paper delivery guy tossed it into the bushes, or right in the middle of a mud puddle, or twenty feet down the driveway so that you must instantly make the decision on whether to go grab your robe or run out in your undies and hope no one sees you. . . well, a day that starts that way is going to  be a trial.  Isn’t it nice to know that first thing?

There’s something so wonderfully tactile about the smell, feel and sound of a paper’s pages being turned.  The feel of the newspaper under your fingers combined with that crinkly sound gives the subliminal message ‘this thing is worth reading’—even if it isn’t.  An intelligent person knows that much of what is published  on-line is either drivel or highly opinionated.  If you sit down to read the news at your computer, surely that subliminal message is more along the lines of ‘what sort of dreck am I going to read today?’

Even if you read a reputable paper on-line, sometimes it is just a pain to navigate the website.  When the print paper says, “Story continued on page ten”, there’s something comforting about the fact that unless the layout person had a bad day, yes, the rest of that story will be right there on page ten.  There’s that slight sense of anticipation as you rifle through the pages—did the dog eat it?  Was it accidentally left out of this issue?  But no, there it is.  Take another sip of coffee and finish reading.

What about the Sunday paper?  It’s a goldmine of info and other things.  First, there’s generally a recap of the week, which comes in handy if you’ve been too busy to get caught up on the news.  There are coupons, and a television guide, and the crossword puzzles and the circular ads.  Near the holidays, it’s simply fun to pull out the ad for your favorite store, circle what you want and leave it where the right person can find it.  Takes a little of the romance out of things when you send your boyfriend an email with the link to something

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