Good Read
Early Sunday morning my S.O. went to the store to buy some eggs. On his return he proclaimed, "I bought something special for you". Thoughts of chocolate swirled through my head briefly. Instead he pulled a copy of the Sunday newspaper out of the bag. Perhaps it's not the most exciting and creative thing my sweetie has surprised me with (that would have to be the secluded lunch in a lighthouse for my birthday one year), but he wasn't so far off in my pleasure in it's offering. There is just something about sitting down to a big breakfast on a Sunday morning with the newspaper on one side of your plate and a coffee mug on the other side. I was still reading as he cleared the breakfast dishes and headed out to work on his new boat.
I know most people get their news from TV or the internet now. I'm one of those people. I just don't make the time for it in my daily routine. It's not that I don't have the time, I just choose to do something else with that time, like walk the dog, check my e-mails, bake some cookies or sit absolutely still on my front steps for a half hour in hopes of catching on film a visiting Cardinal to my bird bath.
We get copies of the Monitor at work which I sometimes skim through during my 10 minute break, but that's just about enough time to read the comics, Dear Abby, skim the editorials and read the headlines (in that order). The bulk of my news intake comes from TV in the morning while I'm dressing, the radio in my car on the way to work and whatever assails me on my homepage on the internet.
Perhaps only a generation that has been exposed to hands on print material would understand the feeling one gets from holding a newspaper or book in one's hand. For me it's a relaxing employment, but one I treat myself to only on occasions where I have down time that won't accommodate my other pleasures (for instance, I can't snap pictures of birds lined up at my bird bath while sitting in a doctor's waiting area). To my children reading a book is a chore their teachers force upon them. They spend their free time on the computer or playing with some type of electronic do-dad. Although, as my daughter has gotten older, one of her favorite pastimes is hanging out in Borders. Perhaps all is not lost on the younger generation.
As I took the time to indulge in this old pleasure Sunday morning I found several stories that interested me, and I couldn't help thinking these were stories that I would have missed if not for my S.O. giving me the excuse to sit and read, such as the story about Matthew. His story began last year in a tragedy that hit particularly close to home for me. At the time of the incident I had been heartbroken to think what would become of the orphaned child. Sunday's article was a good read that renewed some of my faith in the basic goodness of others. Kudos to the Hewey family for stepping up and I'm glad the Monitor wrote the article.
And kudos to my S.O. for bringing home the story for me to read.
