When I stepped onto the front porch Monday, looking forward to my daily glance at every page likely to have something of interest in my favorite news daily, the State Journal-Register, I was surprised to find no waiting newspaper. Perhaps “surprised” is overstating my reaction. For the two or three years since I re-subscribed with “auto-pay” (automatic withdrawal of payment from my checking account), I would have been surprised for sure. During those years, my carrier put the newspaper inside my front door, rain or shine 99.9% of the time, and when it wasn’t between the front doors, it was inches away on my porch before the cock crowed at the crack of 7 am. Something changed about two weeks ago. I knew it when I found the paper on my front lawn. And during that time, it’s never been between doors. Sometimes I found it on a low step, sometimes way off to the side of the door, under a porch chair. Monday morning, however, it was clear that the new carrier missed my house completely and all my loyal pontificating shared here at Honey & Quinine about the importance of journalists supporting other journalists departed through the window of my life perspective. I’ve decided that paying off my debt to people I owe money to — my bank for a home equity loan ($11,000 remaining) and my roofing contractor (more than $20k still owed) is more important than supporting the editor and management of the daily newspaper who have never considered hiring me as a writer or photographer. Granted it’s been years since I’ve applied, and I’m thinking it’s time to update the resume and re-apply. Every month of 2009 I had monthly assignments from my favorite business news monthly Springfield Business Journal and had written occasionally for my favorite community weekly Illinois Times but things are different this year. In place of the contentment of consistent assignments has come the discontent of irregular wordsmithing , and believe me when I tell you that in a one-money-earner household, irregularity is not my friend.
What I have been paying for SJ-R home delivery I’m splitting and delivering half that to my roofing contractor and the other half to my home equity loan payment. With any luck I will be debt-free by 2056.
I called the SJ-R circulation office, and when I explained I had been a happy subscriber for years, but the new carrier was coming up short — sometimes 10 feet short of the entire front porch — she sounded over the phone the way you sound when your lover tells you it’s time to start dating around. For ten seconds after I hung up the phone, I considered changing my mind, but I came to my senses.
With Facebook and the web, WUIS public radio and PBS via WSEC — I can’t get anything but WSEC on my crippled TV — I’m as aware of my community as I want to be. And when I want to wallow in the woe of the community, I can always tune in Jim Leach on WMAY, 970 AM, from awakening to 9.
Sometime ago, Sheila Beebe declared something I wrote here her quote of the day. A sentiment similar to the one that earned that accolade comes to mind: What do loyalty and peanut butter taste like? They taste like peanut butter.
Live long . . . . . . . . . . and proper
Job,
On a somewhat related note, I’m researching a story for the SJ-R on songs written about Springfield. It was brought to my attention that Waverly Wayne used to close his radio show with a Springfield song. All I have to go by is the following snippet of lyrics:
Wonderful Springfield
Springfield Illinois
Capital of the state
and the Heart of Lincoln Land
If that rings a bell to you, could you please let me know.
Thanks,
Dan
You can always stop at the local quick shop to buy a single copy when you have a strong urge to smell ink on your hands.
Right you are, Dick. When I want to inhale the fragrance of ink, all I have to do is sniff my bank statement. Unfortunately, it’s the eau de RED ink, but the scent encountered is bracing, none the less! And whenever I have enough cash (I really should save up during the week) and am curious about what every pharmacy chain in Sangamon County has on sale, I can always purchase the Sunday edition. 🙂