The Day the Music Died

 

I love the smell of ink in the morning

One of life’s pleasures use to be leisurely waking up in the morning, cradling a great cup of coffee and plunge into a fat newspaper.

Those days are gone. Newspapers can’t compete with the information highway of internet and instantaneous news gratification.

By the time I pour my second cup of coffee, I've already heard about three shootings, witnessed four political pundit meltdowns, listened to the announcement of two celebrity divorces, watched a police chase and somehow know my neighbor's cousin is mad at her hairdresser.

Sadly, no one needs a newspaper anymore.

Today’s youth have tech savvy gadgets, some never perusing a newspaper, not even to cut out a current event for a school project. Our next generation immediately wake up to a soul sucking power drawing them into the screen like a Twilight Zone episode.

Students used to look for their name or photo in the local newspaper, recognizing their achievements at school or sports, and hoping not to see their mug shot. Now, they scroll for likes and posts by influencers or digital friends.

A newspaper clipping stayed on Grandma’s refrigerator for decades while the “likes” on social media fade in a day.

I recently dug out my ancient school yearbook. 

The pages were falling apart.

Newspaper clippings slid from the pages like ancient scrolls. Having your photo in the newspaper was a big deal. They were important enough for my young self to cut/keep and treasure.

Action basketball shots.

Choir concerts. 

Talent shows at school. 

Friends winning awards.

We celebrated ordinary moments because somebody thought they were worth printing, now we post an image----a flash of light and they are gone.

Maybe I should find an ark like in the Bible to protect my sacred ancient historical documents?

Reading the local newspaper was about an experience. 

It was about your community, your town, your street and your backyard.

Journalists from CNN could care less if the local school board decided to paint the school purple for no apparent reason, or that the downtown businesses were putting on a street fair or there was a sale at downtown retail shop or car dealership, a neighborhood garage sale and more importantly who was buried and married.

People are reading print media on their phones, iPad, and kindles. Flat, cold metallic screens that serve as a host for zillions of books, papers and magazines! 

Instead of the smell of a good, dead tree “paper” aroma, this futuristic metal device can mimic page turning.   

But it smells like plastic. It’s cold and unfriendly. 

Can I snuggle up with something so distant and aloof?

Yeah, but unplug it for a day or two and see how much you can read!

Sorry Eveready Bunny, batteries do not last forever.

There is something about the feel of a book. The warmth, texture, the intimacy.

My collection of books makes me happy, proudly displayed on my bookshelves along with a layer of dust. Telling all who pay a visit what type of reader I am, thereby telling what kind of person I am.

Magazines used to serve as a reading lottery at your local doctor’s office. All the ones you did not get to subscribe to, or purchase were there for your enjoyment. No charge.

Waiting rooms today stick a television in the corner playing judge nobodies or random cooking shows. No one is looking at the monitors anyway, they are all on their phones.

Print media gave us the power of a photo, such as Time magazine celebrated each year.

The Oklahoma bombing picture of a young child lying limp in the arms of a dusty, disheveled fireman

9/11 firemen putting up a flag

Powerful.

Personal print photos are becoming a lost art as well.

I like to pull out a photo album once in awhile and remember the people, the experiences captured in the shot, or the places I visited. Imperfect images, with blurry faces, no filters to fix the color or lighting and usually a one-shot opportunity with no way to check to see if everyone had their eyes open.

Recently, my family discovered I can restore some of the old photos to fresher, clearer images with ChatGPT. Most of the time it works unless your Aunt Betty looks like your Uncle Fred when it goes through its reorganization of the pixels. That’s scary!

Print media is barely hanging around. Bookstores are closing like the Blockbuster rental stores before them. Does anyone subscribe to a magazine anymore? Like the weekly TV GUIDE!!

I have a wonderful large Bible, but I use the “You version” App on my phone. It provides a verse of the day, devotions and instant research to a scripture I am struggling with.

Digital media is transforming our lifestyles.

We don’t turn pages anymore.

We scroll.

We skim. 

We consume. 

If you still have access to a hometown newspaper, enjoy the black ink on your fingertips and appreciate the hardworking folks who still put it together. The national headlines may be yesterday's news, but the stories of your neighbors, the church fundraiser, Friday night's football game, the weddings, the obituaries, and yes...even the arrests...are the snapshots of a community's life.

I used to love the smell of ink in the morning, now my iPhone buzzes to tell me someone I’d never met had an opinion I didn’t ask for.