“A good newspaper is a nation talking to itself.”

Some time during the night I woke up because I was cold. I threw on a sweatshirt, added a blanket and snuggled underneath it. When I came downstairs, my house was only 63˚. I turned on the heat. Now the house is cozy.

My cleaning lady came yesterday for the second time. Nala was excited. Henry was standoffish, but she kept trying to pat him. I’m loving my clean house and alI did was write the check. Nala got a flu booster shot this morning. Gwen goes in tomorrow for testing. My car is getting an oil change tomorrow. I have to go to the dump tomorrow because I forgot the dump is closed Monday and Tuesday. I also have to yard pick. I can see Nala’s trash from the deck. My to do list is down to three items, the worst being the laundry. I hate to do laundry. I’m thinking I’ll save that for the end. I have lots of clothes left.

Today I am going to pot some succulents I bought recently. Nala has pulled out several of my house plants so I have empty pots. The only other chore for the day is to change my bed after which I can resume my sloth status. Tonight is uke practice night.

When I was a kid, I only read the funnies in the newspaper. I’d turn the pages, and my fingertips would get black from ink. Only the Sunday funnies were in color. Most of those funnies are gone now. I remember Barney Google, Blondie, Lil Abner, Maggie and Jiggs, Orphan Annie with no eye balls, Andy Capp and Dondi though I have idea why I remember that one. One of my favorites was The Phantom.

My father loved his newspapers. When we traveled, he always bought the international USA Today. He got the Globe for a long time until he decided he was really a republican, and the Globe was too liberal so he started reading the Herald. We used to call it the rag. He never appreciated our nickname for his paper. After my father retired, during warm weather, he’d sit on the front steps with his coffee and paper. The whole neighborhood greeted my dad. Cars would honk hello, and he’d wave.

I get two print newspapers: the Boston Globe and the Cape Cod Times. I love reading my papers and turning real pages. I drink a cup of coffee with each paper. My mornings are filled with ritual.

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8 Comments on ““A good newspaper is a nation talking to itself.””

  1. Christer. Says:

    Heavy showers here today, I’m not sure but I think I like that more than frost and icy cars after all 🙂

    Alma hasn’t touched any indoor plants but she has “pruned” lots of the potted plants outdoors and even killed a few 🙂 🙂

    I rarely read real news papers any longer, almost only the online ones. It happens that I buy them but usually forget about them when I’ve come home 🙂 🙂

    Have a great day!

    Christer.

    • katry Says:

      Hi Christer,
      I don’t mind rain unless it freezes. Winter is treacherous at times. This is the best time of year here.

      Nala tends to eat sticks when she is in the yard. She even sneaks pass me and brings them in the house. Nothing is safe from that dog.

      Making coffee and reading the papers are the first things I do after I let the dogs out. It is my favorite way to start the day.

      Enjoy your day!

  2. Caryn Says:

    Hi Kat,
    Blondie, Andy Capp, and the Phantom are still around as is Prince Valiant, although I only see the prince in the Sunday Washington Post. Barney Google and Snuffy Smith are still here and so is Beetle Bailey. But there are some new (to me) ones that are my favorites now. Cul de Sac is one and Frazz is another.
    My heat went on at 6AM this morning which surprised me. I didn’t think it was that cold. It came on several times before 9AM so it got a good blow out before oil burner repairman came to tune it up. Good to go for another winter.
    We used to get three print papers; The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, and the local paper. My mother was a Herald reader, my father was a Globe man and everyone read the local paper. My old dog Tegan would regularly savage the Globe any time she got the chance but she never touched the Herald.
    Nowadays I just get the local paper and read every thing else online. My dogs don’t savage the local paper.
    Have a great day.

    • katry Says:

      Hi Caryn,
      I don’t see any of those which are still around. Neither paper has them. I could look on line. Beatle Bailey is in the Cape Times. Did you know his sister is Lois Flagston of Hi and Lois?

      I haven’t ever heard of Cul de Sac or Frazz. I am way behind comics.

      My furnace needs a new filter I’ll have to call for an appointment. I was cold so I was glad the house warmed quickly this morning. The dogs’ fur felt cold when they came back inside.

      Gwen goes to the vet’s at 8 tomorrow. I’ll have to set my alarm and put her in the crate right away as she disappears under the bed after I feed her in the morning. Oe shot for Nala today was almost $49.00. I don’t want to contemplate tomorrow. My vet bill has been huge the last couple of weeks.

      I also used to get the once a week paper but it tended to have little about Dennis, far more of Yarmouth. I’m happy with the two I have. The Cape Times puts out a great event calendar.

      That’s about about your dog and the Globe. Nala doesn’t discriminate.

      Enjoy the evening!

      • Caryn Says:

        I did sort of know that Lois Flagstaff was related to Beetle Bailey but had forgotten.
        One of the fun things that happens in the collection of comics I read in WaPo is that characters often show up in each others’ strips.

      • katry Says:

        There have been times when all the cartoonists got together and put in the same thing in their stripes like honoring a retiring cartoonist.

  3. Bob Says:

    Hi Kat,

    Today was a slightly warmer version of yesterday.

    I used to subscribe to the Dallas Times Herald until they were purchased by their crosstown rival the Dallas Morning News. Eventually, I didn’t have the time to read the paper and I stopped taking it. I was throwing away unread papers. Now I get my news from my iPad through U.S.A Today or via the TV newscast. The Dallas Morning News owns a huge stone building in the west end of downtown that sits empty. In its heyday it had the largest circulation in the state. Now they office in the much smaller, old public library building that was built in the 1950s.

    I wasn’t a big fan of the comics. I read them on Sundays. My father read the newspaper on the weekends while occupying the porcelain throne. He used to sit and read the entire paper while smoking Camel cigarettes. I think he hid out in the bathroom to get some privacy as much as for reading the paper 🙂

    • katry Says:

      Hi Bob,
      This morning was really chilly. I had to turn on the heat for a bit, but it is supposed to be close to 70˚ today. Sadly, though, I suspect we are getting to the end of 70˚ weather.

      The Boston Globe too moved to a smaller building and sold the huge one right in the city. It is now owned by The NY Times. John Henry, one of the Sox owners, bought it.

      I was a kid still into comic books so I loved the comics in the paper. Now, I also do the crossword puzzles. I love the leisurely mornings I get to have now.

      My father used to sit in the comfiest chair in the living room to read the paper. His brand was Pall Malls.


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