Here's a Twist

Recently I extolled the virtues of a "paper" paper as opposed to a virtual paper (newspaper, that is). Well, I may have to back off just a bit. We had a lot of snow recently and then it froze and now my driveway is full of ice. So my newspaper was lying in the middle of the icefield as opposed to being on my doorstep as usual. Retrieving it meant not only facing icy temperature but also dragging in a lot of unmelted ice-melter (you know, those white pellets that are supposed to melt your ice, but don't when it gets too cold) plus the filthy cat litter my wife thinks will help us gain traction on icy surfaces. Maybe it works for cats but I don't think it works too well for bipeds. It just tracks dirt into the house.

Anyway, needing my morning news fix with my coffee, I went online to "Times Reader" (I guess that would be me), the NYTimes on the web. I'm not crazy about scrolling through lines of squares to find a story I like but I have to admit I did find one and I read the whole thing. Then it was time to go and I picked up the real paper on my way to a medical appointment. Here's another miracle (must be the season)-- the doctor saw me right away and I was heading home before I could even unfold the paper. By the way, I'm fine.

So, here's the point: When I got home, the story I read on line turned out to be on page one of the newspaper, but I still enjoyed holding the paper in both my hands and turning the pages one by one as my eye scanned the contents, selecting a story here and a story there to read. This is a wonderful way to spend a morning and part of an afternoon. It even consumed a second pot of coffee.

Nice.