There was lots of gossipy news today in the two newspapers we get each morning. John Edwards, Patrick Kennedy, Jaycee Dugard, and other scandals, plus Clinton's surgery (he always fits nicely with any gossip) and a raft of feel bad news. I sort of skim through to movie reviews and art openings, and skip the rest. I do the same on my home page for the NY Times. There are exceptions. But, here's the thing (as Monk would say), I've reached that age when history seems cyclical. What goes around comes around. What swings up will swing down. Yes, the swing to the left only seemed to last about two and a half seconds, but there was a swing. You can't make real progress happen in any dramatic kind of way in a single lifetime. But it is happening, very slowly. Women have the vote, slavery is uncool, us Native Americans have a won a few court battles and settlements. But meanwhile, the same old crap just happens over and over, and, like a hamster on a wheel, you can't stop it. And there is absolutely nothing interesting about watching that hamster. He may look different, but it's the same behavior. Boring. We get shocked that the U.S. Supreme Court seems politicized. Hello?! It always was. It's like discovering that politicians like to give speeches. It may be big news to some folks, but to us geezers, it's ho-hum.
As I get older, the world seems more complicated, and TV and news media don't reflect that, so I'd rather read a biography of a politician, a general, an activist, and see the messy reality behind the sound bites. But because of my age, I have a deep nostalgia for print news, and also Walter Cronkite. Mr. Cronkite is sadly gone, so that leaves newspapers. I'll be supporting them as long as they or I am around, but I stick to Cal Sports and the Oakland As, local events and movie listings.
I do see the waste of paper issue, and I love trees. Some of my best friends are trees. I have a huge Atlas Cedar in my back yard and an Incense Cedar in the front, plus a lot of other trees surrounding the house. So I feel a bit guilty, when I can get everything online, but I'm old enough that me and guilt are good buddies, quite comfortable together, and we don't beat ourselves up for a few transgressions.
I'm also old fashioned enough to not want a lot of disturbing images stuffed in my overstuffed brain. I protect myself. Younger people seem to be fine with gory details and quotes from survivors, but those kind of things haunt me. I am the person who was told about the movie Psycho as a teenager by two older teens, and never has seen the movie and never gotten it out of my mind. I was talked into seeing Silence of the Lambs by my husband, and had to spend $80 to see a therapist about it. I scare easy. And I have a lot of stories that are troubling rolling around in my mind. I was, on and off, a battered womens' shelter counselor for 12 years, so I already know that truth is stranger than fiction, that a little truth goes a long way, and a lot can make you crazy. So yes, I'm also protecting myself. If I don't who will?
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