Home   |   LCS Prints Store   |   About Me   |   FAQ   

Friday, February 11, 2011

Early Delivery

I’m one of the few remaining dinosaurs on earth who reads an actual newspaper. I’ve probably written about this before; the habit of spreading out the pages while eating breakfast I started as a teen is so ingrained in me, I’ll grieve when forced to let it go. The same way people resist the transition from bricks and mortar books to E-readers, the idea of eating my oatmeal while clicking on the laptop seems remote somehow, distant and cold. That said I know the time will come, probably soon.

For now though, most days my husband, who gets up a bit earlier, takes the trip to the bottom of the driveway to pick up the paper. Today it didn’t arrive until after he left, so I stepped into my boots and slipped out the door to realize the other thing that I will miss when the paper stops arriving at dawn.

In ten degree weather, sound carries across the frozen street. This morning though, the soft swish of traffic traveling the two lane highway a half-a-mile away whispered and that was all. No cars raced down our commuter road, the birds were quiet, trees stood still. Billows of steam hung like clouds from rooftop furnace vents. Behind the houses across the street, the shadows of leafless trees fingered a sky washed in butter-cream as a low sun reached for the horizon. Frigid air cut at my wool sweater, sharp and tight and glass-like as my boots scuffed on the frosty driveway.  Upon reaching the paper, I stood for a minute watching as my vapor formed and disappeared. For a moment, I was far away— on the side of a snow covered mountain, or standing in the middle of a rural field, miles from the populated neighborhood we call home.

For just a few seconds in my little world, that was all there was.  The newspaper, the silence, and me.

18 comments:

Sharon said...

And, now, I too am there.

Helen Ginger said...

That sounds wonderful. You don't often get real silence in today's world.

Anonymous said...

I'm always nostalgic for such things as newspapers (and rotary phones and two-party lines and no digital messages, etc etc.) Even though I am now in the digital age; I do love my color Nook eReader, and I could never abandon the computer for the old-fashioned typewriter! But the newspaper days were a time of real community spirit. At least, this was the case in my growing-up world as I suspect it was also in yours.

This post is so evocative. Beautifully written. Your entire blog is absolutely lovely. I love the blue template with the header photo. They so stunning that words are inadequate.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Ann Best, Author

Unknown said...

Blessed silence. Writers can definitely take that analogy and apply it to our work; sometimes the most profound moments come when there is nothing at all. It's the spaces in between--the unsaid--that hold all of the meaning.

Love your writing here, btw.

EJW

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Silence is really hard to find these days.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

I love to get up at dawn and find any excuse to stick my head outside and be part of the stillness. Beautiful post, Liza.

J.B. Chicoine said...

I know there was a day when I didn't mind venturing out in the cold--but now, I hate the feel of the air crystalizing in my nostrils!

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

Our neighborhood was too quiet with the 4 day power outage. I'll take the noise.

Sue said...

Liza, trust me when I say oatmeal and laptops are a bad mix. there's always a stray drop of milk or flake of bran that finds its way into the keyboard. Newspapers are much more forgiving, afterwards you can use them for mulch, toy boats, hats, wrapping up the vegie peelings for the compost, paper planes...and you can also draw moustaches and mono-eyebrows on people who annoy you!

Lydia Kang said...

I love those silent little moments, especially on nights after I take the trash out. I stare at the starry sky and just be.
:)

Robyn Campbell said...

Lovely post, Liza. Just lovely. I stand in the middle of our pasture, listening to the horses munching on hay and the chickens clucking about and think how blessed I am.

Jennifer Shirk said...

That's nice. Sometimes with all the technology we have, we lose that simple quiet stillness.

My hubby LOVES getting the paper. In fact, we now get it everyday. That's his relaxing quiet time.

Anonymous said...

Beautifully written description of your morning. I felt like I was standing beside you seeing it clearly.

Cheryl said...

I could feel this in my bones. For me it's the crack of dawn on an early summer morning.

WritingNut said...

That's absolutely beautiful.. I love those moments too, and we don't get nearly enough of them.

I know what you mean about the newspapers... I never stopped to think about it, but I usually get all my daily news either on the T.V. before I leave for work, or online... although sometimes I pick up the free paper at the station :)

My Grama's Soul said...

Hello there....I, too, love holding and reading the paper.
I vow to forever remain a dinosaur! (O:(O:L

Jo

Rose said...

thank you for allowing us to walk with you and experience your world. great description rose

lotusgirl said...

I love the silence of morning when I can get it.