Up, Down and Around Our Town

With one week to go before winter officially, exits, it was nice to get in the first round of March golf. Obviously, the dormant period of my game resulted in no appreciable changes, but nevertheless, it was wonderful to get out and share some of that frustration with good friends. And, like the Cubbies, hope always is eternal in the spring.

Over my coffee this morning, the reality hit. Pondering what I had been reading all week was like a cold smack in the face, but it appears that all of this will be of little comfort once the transition has been completed. Let me digress a bit.

I remember the day when I got my first 8-track player. Wonderful in so many ways. These cartridges fit nicely into their little slot and out came lots of good music. Now, it tended to warble from time to time, but the convenience factor was immeasurable. We joined the tape club, found one that hung under our dash in the car and really felt that our musical fidelity was in the deepest of clover. Then something happened. It always does.

We started seeing much smaller versions of this technology and the cassette revolution became a reality. So, off the shelves went the new technology and relegated my former love affair to the top areas of the garage. But, we found that the cassettes were much more portable and even our friends at Sony complied when we got our first Walkman. Joy all around. Then something happened. It always does.

These hard little disks started to appear with the same amount of music in a more durable format that also would fit a newer Walkman. Home stereos were now equipped with CD outlets and even became standard equipment in cars. So, joining the 8-tracks were our beloved cassette players. Now we have piles and piles of CD's and store them in boxes, on our visors in the car and generally wherever those jewel boxes will find a resting place. Then something happened. It always does.

The iPod revolution hit. We now had a venue to take our piles of music and upload it, through our computers, to this small gadget that seemingly held the World of Congress in its small box. That's where we are now and the new generation of iPods can do most anything, including play your music.

My point is that the 8-track, cassette and CD industries are now either almost or are in reality, truly a thing of the past. Which brings me back to my coffee.

Reading a morning newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee are, I believe, protected in the Bill of Rights. Perhaps not. However, when I read that the likes of the San Francisco Examiner, the Chicago Sun-Times, the New York Daily News, The Boston Globe and the Cleveland Plain-Dealer are on life supports tells me that I better make room on that shelf in the garage for another generational casualty. The daily newspaper.

All victims of the computer age. Folks under the age of 45 don't read a newspaper anyway and if they do, it is usually just for a special occasion. But for my generation, the joy of not one, but 3 or 4 Sunday papers made a gray February day a joy. The newspapers are on the Internet, sort of. You can read news that everyone has access to; it was always the side-bar stories that made the most sense.

In our local area, the St. Louis Post is a shell of its former self and is hardly worth picking up anymore. The Chicago Tribune used to be delivered in our area, but they stopped that and actually shrunk the real thing in Cook County down to something that it truly minimal. The USA Today is available, but on its best day, it was hardly worth the effort. Even our local paper, the Quincy Herald-Whig, has shown significant signs of shrinkage.

Why? Because the hand-held computers, along with the portable laptops have allowed for some degree of reading a newspaper whenver and wherever one wants. Perhaps that's the key. While we made reading the paper an event, the current distribution system allows for reading of a newspaper to be on demand. No planning involved at all. And, with all of our noses buried in an iPod or wired to a Blackberry or tied to a laptop, the day has come. While the funeral hasn't been held, the wake is upon us. Sad.

Yes, we'll adapt. We always do. But this venue has been a staple in my life for the past 55 years and giving it up cold turkey is just plain hard. While I love the ability to get instant news, I also miss being able to pour over the box scores or look at the election results in more than just a cursory eye. Plus, my coffee now gets cold. One more sign that age is now showing its worth.

Capitalizing on a note from the techno revolution, I was reunited with a dear friend from way back when. Through something called LinkedIn, she was able to track me down and we corresponded nicely. She is a marathon runner and will be competing in the April St. Louis event and we hope to make eye contact after almost 40 years. Yet, there is an irony even to this reunion. She was employed for over 30 years by Circuit City. Sad, but true. However, to my friend Frances Eaton Gilday, I will look forward to sharing time and memories on a much grander scale.

Finally, a simple babysitting job turned into one of those joys. My hero has started to sit up and even with her deficits, she is enjoying her first taste of mobility. Having her older brother as a straight man in a comedy act is almost more fun that one can imagine. Plus, it puts it all in perspective. Joy and happiness know no recession.

Plus, Spring Break is over and I will look forward to hearing stories from the students who will, on the outside, be growling at returning, but on the inside, know how good they've got it. A hidden bonus.

Till next week, when it is officially spring, I will return. And, as always, I remain.....