Slice of Life Story Challenge March 27 - Clinging To The News

In the early gloom of morning, I gather the newspaper lying at the far end of the driveway, in front of our house. I spend the next couple of minutes extricating it from the highly resistant plastic wrap protecting it from the elements. For someone who is keen to get in touch with the news of the moment, this problem solving activity creates some level of frustration. I grimace. I rip and tear. Finally, the plastic yields to my will. The news is mine…

Once the paper is freed from its cling wrap cocoon, it is down to some serious reading. The smell of the newsprint and the sheer pleasure I gain from reading the world is all I need to get my brain swirling.

Recently my newspaper of choice made a deliberate decision to shrink from a broadsheet to a tabloid configuration. It saves the publisher money and it makes the paper much easier to manage the fold and read for newsprint addicts. The change of size is an adjustment.  My news is now condensed and has a new look and feel.

Newspapers do not hold the eminent news position they once held, but because I have always read them, I remain loyal. Mind you, I also get my news from web based news platforms as well as social media formats such as Twitter and Facebook. I also receive news feeds on my phone, so I pretty much have a news feed through -out the day covered.

I am grateful to newspapers though, because they have played a significant part in my becoming a reader. As a child, I scoured the newspaper each day for sporting results and articles. In those far off days, I would begin reading from the back of the newspaper because that is where you found all the sports related information. Sport was my passion. These days, I begin at the front and gradually work my way to the sporting section. My need for a sporting fix has lessened. My needs and interests as a reader have broadened considerably. However, newspapers remain part of my morning routine and wandering around in the newsprint remains an enduring pleasure.

Comments

  1. Melanie Meehan27 March 2013 at 20:55

    Loved reading this post and the newspaper routines that you have. Something about a cup of coffee and sharing a paper will always be a treasured ritual for me on a Sunday morning. We are living in a USAToday at best mentality and culture and I do hope that there are some papers that will stay true to their tabloid configuration and strong, provocative writing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rissa27 March 2013 at 20:59

    You've got me trying to think how I began reading newspapers because like you, they've been a part of my life for forever. It must have been Ann Landers or Erma Bombeck that got me started. Beautiful writing...I giggled reading the bit about getting them out of the plastic wrapper.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous27 March 2013 at 21:01

    I loved your description of removing the newspaper from it's plastic wrapping. My favorite line is "Once the paper is freed from its cling wrap cocoon..."

    ReplyDelete
  4. elsie28 March 2013 at 06:40

    Will the paper disappear? I hope not. There is something about having that paper in the morning to skim through, even though I don't do a thorough job of reading it. It is the motion that starts my day and I miss it when I don't have it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Katherine Sokolowski28 March 2013 at 13:01

    I love your post and the snapshot of your morning. I confess, I used to love reading the paper but in the past few years have moved more and more to online news. I'm glad you still have this ritual.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Linda B28 March 2013 at 15:53

    I still take the newspaper & read the front page articles and the funnies, an editorial or two each day, then move to the internet, although this March challenge has taken time away. I borrow the NY Times from my daughter when I can. I probably should just go out and buy the Sunday times. I don't see the paper being thrown to anyone else on my new street-feel like a renegade!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular With Other Visitors

Writing Opposite Poems

Image
 O pp o s ite  P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. Not every thing has a
Read more

Writing About Reading - Reading Reflection Journals:

Image
UPDATED February 2022 Writing in response to literature can be a great way for students to organize their thoughts, explore what they think, and generate ideas. One of the strengths of writing in journals is that it allows students to capture all of those great ideas that generally float off into the air during the discussion.  Journal writing can also become drudgery if students are asked to write too often, given little choice or inspiration in what to write, or if they simply don't have anything to say. While some students eagerly share their impressions about selections they have read in class discussions, others are less comfortable and keep their thoughts to themselves. In an effort to encourage all students to think more about what they read and confidently share their observations and opinions, some teachers are turning to the reading reflection journal and are gaining insights they never anticipated.  The Value of Reflection Journals   Journals assist teachers to gain i
Read more

Learning How to 'Zoom In' When Writing

Image
It is important for young writers to understand that not all parts of a story are equal. There are parts through which a writer moves quickly, and important parts where the writer slows down and lingers a while. This is where the writer might intensify the action or reveal the character’s reactions in greater detail. Young writers need to know that this is a deliberate strategy on the part of the author. The author consciously zooms in. The writer uses a magnifying glass to view a part of the story more closely; to focus on a moment and to slow down time. When an important part of the story is enlarged upon, it   is a signal to the reader, that this part of the story is important. The strategy of ‘zooming in’ goes by many names: ‘exploding a moment’ ‘magnifying a moment’, ‘hotspot’ ‘snapshot’, ‘adding detail’ or ‘slowing the action.’  What ever the name, the idea is the same. The author writes in a way that expands a significant part of the story with the intention of drawing t
Read more

Answering Questions Posed by Young POETS

Image
UPDATED, May 2020 As a frequent visitor to schools I have the great pleasure of working with groups of young, enthusiastic poets and their teachers. When I arrive in a classroom, young poets are often pre-loaded with questions, and most keen to have them answered.  I try to answer as many as I can, but we frequently run out of time, and the poetry caravan moves on to the next classroom. So I am here to answer some of those questions -right here, right now. So here goes: When you were little did you love writing? The short answer is yes. I have always enjoyed words and language. I can't recall a time when I wasn't doing some kind of writing. When did you write your first poetry book? I have had poems published over the years, but it wasn't until 2014 that I had an entire book of poems (an anthology) published. When I looked back through all my notebooks I realized I had hundreds of poems from which to choose. So, 'Searching For Hen's Teeth-Poetry From The
Read more

Slice Of Life Story-The Trials Of A Left Handed Writer

Image
Amazingly I learnt to write using my left hand. An achievement against the prevailing beliefs of the day. My very first teacher saw it as her mission in life to ‘fix’ the poor, wretched little boy suffering from what she clearly diagnosed as left handed disease. She must have thought, 'This child must be re formatted! If he remains left handed he will be forever condemned to writing in a scrawl that no one will be able to read. Ugly hand, ugly hand.' ...They tried to say it couldn't be done, it mustn't be done. They took the pencil out of my left hand and placed it in my right hand. It felt unnatural. It felt weird. It was not right. More to the point it was not left. I was not about to conform. At least they didn't try tying my hand behind my back. Watch me I said. I may be an oddball, left handed scribbler but I am a determined oddball. I mean how boring would the world be if everyone wrote with their right hand? So I dug my toes in –and my hands to
Read more