We'd been talking about it for a while, subscribing to the local newspaper. We'd done it several times in the past but always canceled it when papers started piling up unread. Our desire to start using coupons in our grocery shopping convinced us to try subscribing again, which we did this week. We opted for the weekend-only delivery this time since all we really want is the coupons from the Sunday paper. Of course, I can't see having a newspaper in the house without reading it, so here I am on a Sunday reading the actual physical paper.
The first thought that always comes to me when I read the local paper is "Why didn't I know this was going on?" I like to think that following various local organizations on Facebook and Twitter is keeping me informed, but just in five minutes of flipping through the paper I found out that:
--the local school board decided NOT to close M's former middle school after all;
--John's Toy and Hobby, a well-known independent toy store, is closing after 50 years;
--the chamber of commerce is having a Dancing With the Stars-style fundraiser;
--there was a pie-tasting day at the homemakers' center in Gastonia.
I know that reading news in digital form is more convenient. However, I find that I miss out on so many events going on in the community when I stick to online news. It is too easy to zero in on particular stories and miss the incidentals. The physical act of flipping pages results in articles catching my eye that I wouldn't have even known to look for, like the Dancing for Future Stars fundraiser.
My internet use tends to crowd out every other activity, so I'm sure the papers will pile up unread again in due time. For now, however, I will enjoy reacquainting myself with my community.
2 comments:
Me too! I'm still just stopping by the gas station on Sundays for coupons, but I end up actually reading the paper! We used to subscribe but all that extra paper was piling up.
But today, I found out John Edwards has a heart condition and Gingrich won SC (?!)... apparently, I live under a rock.
ABM was stopping by the gas station every Sunday, but either he would forget or they would be out of papers. Since he has dreams of being an extreme couponer, we figured it would be worth the money to subscribe :-).
The funny thing is that I feel like I'm aware of most of the big stuff going on in the world, serious and frivolous alike. It's the events going on right on my doorstep that escape my notice when I don't read the paper.
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