March 6, 2006

Where's my NYT?

We've been getting some serious snow these last two days, and the worst part about it is that I can't find my New York Times. The snow shoveling guys might have covered it up, or maybe it just didn't come. Trying to get the day started without the foundation of the paper Times is hard for me. Am I just supposed to read the website? Why does that feel so awkward to me, when I do so much other reading on line? It's a mental quirk of mine. I've had the Times delivered for the entire time I've lived in Wisconsin, over 20 years. Why the NYT? It's not just that I was living in New York before I came here, it's that the NYT delivered out here, and the local papers are completely insubstantial. I've become quite attached to it, in its traditional form.

7 comments:

Peter Patau said...

Not just you, mine's missing too, after a thorough search under the snowdrifts. I was out on the road late last night -- think the truck from Chicago chickened out in the fog. Called the automated response line printed on the bag and asked for another copy. Wonder when it will come? Feel naked without it. For awhile, we tried to save trees by only having Sunday delivered and reading online during the week. Know what you mean — it didn't work. Felt disembodied all day.

Mark Haag said...

Because I do so much work online, reading a paper online reminds me of working. Reading a "paper" paper makes me think of "break". Its like coffee, or a conversation with a friend, or pondering time...

Ann Althouse said...

The paper appeared around 9:30. Really bad, but it is rather snowy.

Icepick said...

Ah, now we know the REAL reason for your move: You don't want to have to dig through any more freakin' snowbanks to find your morning newspaper!

Ann Althouse said...

The "paperboy" is an adult man who drives around in his car -- in Madison, where we know how to drive in the snow.

altoids1306 said...

Yeah... the driver's should kill themselves to bring you your New York Times.. The mail doesn't come out here if the snow is too bad: this invludes mail-away prescriptions, bills, checks, and actually important things. Few people whine about this because the people delivering the mail (and your precious NYT) are people too, despite the fact that they aren't up to par with your uppity academic standards, and shouldn't be forced to risk their lives to bring you your morning comfort when you can easily read it online.

Disgusting.


Yes, I agree. The far better solution is to just read it online, in which case there would be no need to deliver papers, and we could fire the driver.

Frank from Delavan said...

For many years in Chicago, the first thing in the morning I'd open the front door and my dog Barney would "retrieve" the Chicago Tribune. He would then get a doggy bone as a reward. (Sundays were fun to watch as he would drag the paper up the steps.)

One day, no paper! He was disconsolate. He sat by the door, waiting for the thump of the paper. I even tried refolding yesterday's paper and tossing it out, but he could smell the difference. He was also honest. He wouldn't take his bone until he did his work.

In retrospect, he demonstrated a classic Pavlovian response.

How long did you say you were trained?