Print This. (original) (raw)

Do me a favor. Please. Print this article. Cut, copy, paste and print this paper so that you can have it in your hands. Do it so that there will be a tangible, palpable entity in your possession. Print this paper so that if and when someone asks �Whatcha� doin�?� you can raise and rustle the sheets and answer, � Why, I am reading, of course.� At that point you should watch for the quizzical look, it is sure to follow.

Now you�re probably asking why. Why should you prefer to take your reading from inked wood pulp rather than an electronic box? Why would it matter to hold a paper product instead of staring blankly at a computer screen? Because ink goes to paper as a boat goes to sea. Words are to be placed on parchment, velum or papyrus just as peanut butter is to be placed on white bread and coupled with jelly. In short, because of Tradition. Tradition- that handing down of established customs and beliefs through the generations that forms the foundation of so many of our actions and movements; that philosophy that gives purpose to our daily lives. Tradition is that stalwart entity that has sustained us through troubles, trials and tribulations, often giving each of us a reason to behave with dignity and courage. Tradition has taken us to wars and rescued us from them. It has dictated life�s course, at some time or another, for each and every one of us. It motivates, emboldens, describes and explains. Tradition can determine such important issues as where to go to college, if military service is the best way to serve one�s country or whether to serve a homemade cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving dinner or just plop out the canned version (bitter battles have been waged on this last point). Nevertheless, the custom of reading from paper is as human as taking your hunting lesson from the cave�s wall.

And yet, the tradition of reading the printed word is dying a little each day as we suck up into our bedrooms and offices accompanied by our computers with their all-encompassing wisdom, speed and non-threatening, innocuous, non-judgmental anonymity. In fact, over these last several years more and more of us have begun to read the news from the Internet and, as a result, newspapers are fading away like so much printer�s ink. Sales and circulations of newspapers are down nationwide to the point that several have folded or, are near closing. The web-site (yes, I see the irony) newspaperdeathwatch.com has been keeping a watchful eye on this business and the reports that it issues daily color a grim canvas. The day that I read the site, it had listed nine newspapers that had either become solely Internet �papers� or, become defunct altogether- all within the past several months. Add to this that many university libraries are digitizing their catalogues and that magazines, such as this one, are forced to exist in the ether due to budget issues, and paper�s prognosis is not a healthy one.

There is, of course, the reality that many newspapers and magazines exist in both the physical and the electronic worlds. Hoorah, for having cake with our pie! However, it is an honest effort to allow more of us the opportunity access to news and letters. We all sleep a little deeper each night knowing that our sophomores are, at least, reading something.

I have a friend who insists, since his move to the Northwest, on writing letters on actual paper with an ink pen. He even has the temerity to insist that I respond accordingly and I oblige him. He refers to this method of communication as an �anachronism�. I hope he is wrong but, I suspect he is on to something. So please, oblige me. Do me this one favor. Print this article. And, when you�re done, leave it lying around some place. Discard it carelessly like you used to do with that newspaper or magazine. Leave it on the seat of the airplane or the bus. Strike a blow for humanity and tradition. Then, go about your day with your fingertips stained, proudly, black. Everyone will wonder just what it is you�ve been up to.

Copyright Byron Browne

Notes From Over HereJanuary 12, 2009 Column
Byron Browne can be reached at Byron.Browne@gmail.com