Wake up and smell the coffee

A wise man once said "A newspaper is a device that makes the fool more ignorant and the crazy, even crazier". My eyes popped open as I read this since I read any newspaper passionately and did not want my mental stability or intellectual prowess questioned by someone unleashing pearls of wisdom. Nevertheless, it brought my mind back to one of the simple joys in life- waking up to rays of sunshine, coffee and yes, a newspaper. Now this is a habit I sorely missed during my two years of grad life because you really dont have the time. Ok, I can almost see you raise your eyebrows in disbelief, so lets try more plausible explanations. As I dared to dream about subscribing to a newspaper in good old fashioned hard copies, I could almost hear a voice condemning such reckless desires that your status as a student forbids you from conjuring. With the electronic media feeding you everything that you would rather not know, it seemed close to sacrilege to embark on such a journey of luxuries. Plus, your psyche as a grad student teaches you to look at anything on paper with suspicion and the computer as your long lost friend.

Finally there came the day when I relinquished my student status and landed in the valley of the sun, Arizona. In almost a flash of brilliance, I jumped on a deal that would deliver a newspaper to my place every single day for an amount the salesman insisted was "irresistable". The only way to resist temptation is indeed to give in to it. It was 6am in the morning and the alarm sounded like Beethoven reserving his best to wake me up. I leaped out of bed and made a dash for the door and what greeted me was totally contrary to expectations. Here was the valley's paper, Arizona Republic folded, wrapped and packaged in plastic with a rubber band on it. In a fit of rage, I almost picked up the phone and called the salesman since I wanted just one newspaper a day and not the entire neighborhood's quota. But no, this was just today's paper, the very size of it would have made any weight-lifter smack his hands in glee. Now, I am not much of an environmentalist like some hard core campaigners. Dont get me wrong, I still subscribe to the ideas of leaving the world a better place and will do my bit to plaster that hole in the ozone layer.However, I couldnt help but sympathize with the tree that must have been felled and misused to produce this kind of a product. Apart from a circus expert, I couldnt fathom anyone daring to balance a cuppa and a paper in one sitting. My mind quickly races back to the days of yore...if only I could go back in time...