News paper's obits

I truly do like reading the news paper. When I was a child, my dad used to sit at the kitchen table and read the news paper while my mother cooked dinner. He would say, "Listen to this." and then he would proceed to read to us from the paper. We had to be quiet and listen. He read the Op Ed page and then remarked on what he had just read. He would agree or disagree and give reasons why. These comments were often accompanied by vituperative remarks. He read news articles, sports, obituaries and finally the Funnies. He had names for the Comic page personalities and discussed them as if they were real people. He called Detective Dan Dunn, Damn Dumb and had names for Dick Tracey, B.O. Plenty and many others. I was tuned into politics and civic matters and critiquing at a very early age. I don't ever recall him reading to us out of story books or books of poetry, that was Mother's job but he sure kept us up on current events.There were times when I resented having him insist that we listen to everything he chose to read to us. It took me about 30 years to realize that he was educating us and instilling values in his own way. Perhaps unaware that he was doing that.

I am saddened by the fact that so many news papers are closing their doors. Large papers that have been in business for more than a century. Gannett, who I don't really care for, are gradually cutting back and asking their employees to take unpaid weeks off to keep from being laid off. The Courier ,which they own, is so small and getting smaller each day, that it will come as no surprise if they close down. I could only imagine what my dad would have to say about the inch high comic strips that you need magnifiers to read! I complain about the paper, non stop, but I would still rather read the hard copy than read the news on the computer. I read both.

I used to teach my classes about the news paper. I would have the paper in hand and show them each part of the paper and give them the skills to find what information they were seeking. With one class, when it came time in my presentation to teach them where to find the obituaries, one student was shocked! He said, " You mean they have a whole page or two of dead people's names? Why would anyone want to read about dead people?" That led to a lively discussion with the rest of the classmates joining in. We finally convinced him that it was a necessary service.

I enjoy reading the columnists, sometimes it gets me fired up and other days it calms me down. I have my favorites and I have my un-favorites! One of my favorites is Garrison Keillor. A few weeks ago he wrote a eulogy type column about his brother that was particularly poignant.

I never fail to read the obituary page. I wonder how many lies are told about the deceased that no one would dare dispute. " He was loved by everyone and always had a smile and a good word to say." I can hear some of the people reading the obit saying, "Yeah, right!" I love to read the parenthetical names that they publish along with the deceased person's given name. I think my favorite may be (Chilli Dog), or how about (Popcorn),(Chunky), (Mama Cup Cake,) (Slats), (Rat) and many, many more! Be careful what you nick name your child! Those names live on!. In the memorial section, the other day, I read a message that said,"Bro,people still can't keep yo' name out they mouth." Very touching, I thought.

I know the economy has some impact on the newspaper because there are fewer advertisers but I do hope that if and when the recovery comes we can get back to bigger and better news papers. We live here in Louisville because of the impact television had on magazines and advertising, I hope papers don't suffer the same fate.

Even so, after all is said and done I still dislike Gannett and it's progeny, but I would selfishly hate to witness its demise. I still want a paper in my hands! Ciao