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Sometimes we have to wonder where all the good news has gone. Flick on the TV or check the news online and it seems to be one catastrophe after another. After awhile we begin to crave normalcy.

When we do get a glimpse of good news we slurp it right up. Like today, there was a science article online about dolphins and how they prepare sophisticated meals. I went right for it. I really wanted to know something nice was happening out there in the ocean. It was a short break from the usual. . .the stuff we really don't want to know about.

In an attempt to write more positive articles, the media sometimes gives us a glimpse of what I call, almost news. Or maybe news. Like today's article about finding a woman they THINK might be 128 years old. That's kind of cool. But they didn't wait to find out if it was real news first, they just printed that maybe news story. It's still a nice break. And if the woman actually is 128 years old, I'd like to see a follow-up article on how she did it. Wouldn't it be great if she grew so old from eating ice cream, potato chips and dip? I'd latch right onto a diet like that.

While it's true that sensationalism sells stories, we need frequent breaks from all that negative reality. There's another form of reporting that's extremely useful and it's neither positive nor negative. It's warning news. A possible problem is coming up, such as the volcano in Alaska that's expected to erupt any time now.

That's an excellent idea of what news should be. Scientists at the volcano center in Alaska have been monitoring a series of earthquakes under the volcano. Earthquakes which indicate an eruption is working its way out. I even learned that before a volcano erupts, the geology changes, meaning the mountain actually begins to bulge a bit. Kind of reminds me of the rumblings of a tummy, a gassy little bloated tummy.

The residents, being forewarned as a good news report will do, are buying up breathing masks and air filters for their homes. They're stocking up on food and water in case they need to hunker down in the house for a few days while volcanic ash spews, then falls and settles.

News like that serves a great purpose: giving people time to prepare for a pending disaster so they have a chance to do whatever is necessary to protect themselves, their kids, their pets and homes.

Several months ago I realized I had taken in too much reality, since negative reality had been hitting pretty hard and fast at the time in the form of skyrocketing food prices. The way I recognized it, I was shopping at the grocery store and happened upon a bin of acorn squash for only twenty-five cents each. I did a double take. Did they mean per pound? Another woman looked at the price then asked me if she was reading it right. I said she was. I grabbed up a cute little acorn squash as if I had just found gold on sale for the price of dirt. When such a tiny bit of good news like that can make you so happy, you know you've just overdosed on on too much bad news. I knew it was time to take a breather and find some more positive things to include in my life.

Learn more about this author, Lana Stockton.
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