Lucky me to be sitting next to the lady in Seat 9D in today’s short flight Tampa to Miami.
She looked just like a slightly older version of Diane Keaton—-stylish, with glasses, white linen blouse and beige linen slacks. Comfortable pricey shoes. And….a copy of the Sunday New York Times under her arm. That made my impression of the lady complete.
She sat down next to me, gave me a polite smile accompanied by a hello, then proceeded to read her Times copy. I noticed that she ignored the first section of the multi section Times, and went straight to Arts & Leisure, resting her eyes on the cover story (about architect David Rockwell, who is in charge designing the set for the upcoming Academy Awards). From there, she went to Travel, probably pondering various destinations that she could visit—-this lady is probably a seasoned traveler.
When she was finished, she turned to me and said: “Would you like to get my copy of the New York Times?”
She probably noticed my keen interest in her newspaper, as I had tried to get a copy at the Tampa airport, but they had just run out of Sunday Times. She put the Book Review and other supplements inside her purse, and offered me the rest of the paper. I said thank you and proceeded to read myself.
Indeed, a Sunday New York Times is my favorite Sunday ritual in the mornings; when in Europe, give me El Pais Dominical (Madrid’s equivalent of the Times). Both papers are full of surprises, insightful analysis of the week that was and the one ahead, plus, and this is an important plus, GREAT writing, the kind that never goes out of style. NO matter what happens to print, I hope that these Sunday monuments to good journalism stay alive and IN PRINT.
When I finished reading the Times, I asked my fellow traveller why she did not read the first section of the newspaper:
“Oh, well, it is all full of news that I may already know about, as I read a lot of newspapers, some of them online. So I buy the Sunday Times for the features and the book reviews.”
Sounds reasonable. I thanked her for letting me share the newspaper. At that time, the flight attendant passed by to collect trash, including unwanted newspapers. When we produced The Sunday Times, the flight attendant put it under his arm, not in the plastic garbage bag, and said: “New York Times? I don’t throw this one away, I will read it tonight. Thanks.”
One Sunday New York Times, three readers. Not bad. On this sunny Florida morning, printed newspaper does well. Something to smile about.
(By the way, in Africa and India, a copy of a printed daily newspaper may be shared by as many as 8 to 10 readers).
TheMarioBlog posting #194