Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The Morning News

This morning early, while rubbing on deodorant, combing my hair, putting on my clothes and trying to tie my shoes, a well known morning guy interviewed members of coal miner's families. Their loved ones were still in the mine. Twenty-five of their co-workers were dead. The news guy wanted to get their thoughts.

I don't get why anyone in a stressful personal situation would ever want to or agree to go on camera for a national television broadcast. Doing that less than 24 hours after the disaster borders on insanity.

I've seen parents of children who have been abducted sit there crying while choking out words about their feelings.

I've seen parents of a child who was just found dead and dismembered in the woods after a week of searching, talking about their grief.

I've seen child of 15 who had been sexually molested by a trusted family member sitting with the brother of the molester, speaking of their abhorrence.

This is nuts.

Maybe it's a good thing to have a "spokesperson" or further removed family member speak in order to draw attention to the need to watch our children or improve mine safety, but for me at least, it's too much. I turn the TV off when this is shown. I may be a life voyeur and perhaps I will slow down a little driving by a wreck, but I do not need to see and hear that with my morning coffee.

Alright, I'm stepping back down off the soap box!

One thing I do enjoy in the morning is reading the daily paper. I grew up in a small country town and there was a weekly paper. It used to be a good paper. I still subscribe and now it's basically a weekly paper of record; births, deaths, marriage licenses, court reports, arrest records. The news is meth busts and people arrested for smoking marijuana or hitting their girlfriend. When I moved to Louisville there were two daily papers; one in the morning and one in the evening. When I married we got both papers. We both loved reading the paper. Dennis had a daily paper in the town where he grew up and still subscribed to it.

Now days I read the remaining daily paper and enjoy it immensely. While doing so today, on TV an entertainment talking head was trying to use the iPad. The device looks sleek and cute and modern. I'm not convinced. Let me keep my daily paper. Even if they raise the price of it to the price of the New York Times, I want my daily paper.

This morning in the Courier-Journal Clay Bennett's cartoon made me laugh out loud.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100406/OPINION03/100405010/1020/GOP+s+image+tarnished

Weather is hot as West Texas here today; 88 degrees.

11 comments:

  1. It's getting up in the 80s today here, too. Not ready for it yet! Where did spring go?

    I don't understand why people agree to be interviewed either. At least when it's a kidnapped kid the parents are pleading for the public's help. For most other instances I don't see why they do it. Different strokes, I suppose.

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  2. I don't know where Spring went. The yard's already been mowed twice and a day later the wild green onions and full flowered yellow dandy lions are up again.

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  3. I think everyone's 15 minutes of fame is going to come in the form of a press conference on a cable news channel.

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  4. You might be right Jay. I don't want any fame myself. I know lots of people who value their privacy, so I don't think I'm alone on that.

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  5. I dig newspapers and am saddened by their slow death. It's okay to read online but it's not the same as holding it in your hand in the morning and reading it. Cheers Charlene!!

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  6. Hi there.

    I'm in Manila, Philippines, and it's totally hot in here. So I just yell "Shit!" or "F*ck!" every hour cos it's unbearably hot. The rainy days is like, a month away.

    My Mom used to read newspapers everyday. But then I guess she grew tired and watched news on TV instead. As for my case, I don't really read the newspapers, I just check the internet or happen to pass by the TV. I'm greatly saddened by the slow death of newspapers.

    I just hope books wouldn't die anytime soon.

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  7. I agree on books. I had some eye surgery last month and couldn't read comfortably for about two months before that. Now I can easily read again and I'm just burning through the books! I look at the new iPad and think, Naa. I like technology but I also like what I like; newspapers and books.

    Heat is abating here. We had thunderstorms last night and this morning everything is damp and clean. Temps are predicted to be a high of 60. Yesterday it was 85 as a high.

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  8. Wow, that's harsh, not having to read comfortably for 2 months! That's torture, I'm glad you got better.

    The new iPad looks sleek and ultra modern. I'm so into gadgets but I don't like this innovation. I don't dig ebooks, they're unpleasant to the eyes after a while of reading. Paper is always better!

    Things get more unpredictable, it's a sign of Globalwarming, yes?

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  9. Everything is a damn "reality show" anymore.
    The news is the biggest example.

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  10. i also can't believe people would go on camera in the middle of a personal crisis. i'd put on some dark sunglasses and tell them to piss off.

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  11. I agree with what Secretia added... I couldn't be interviewed in that kind of grief situation... I remember when my Mom died... and later when my Dad died, my grief was personal... and was for me... when I have those moments when I am moved to tears, I don't want witnesses... it's not that I am afraid or ashamed of being seen as weak, but that I think my expression of grief is just that... mine...

    Thank you for coming my blog and following me... I've read a bit of yours and will be back to read more... thank you!

    ~shoes~

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