The Weekly Examiner
A 125-Word Story Presented Simply From Northeastern Pennsylvania
“Oh dear, or dear!” The nervous little man paced the hardwood floor of his little shop on Main Street. Back and forth, back and forth, over the past fifteen years, he’d worn a path in front of the glass display case between the front door and the cash register.
He half-crumpled the newspaper in anger, before anxiously straightening it to continue reading.
His wife leaned nearby, absently nibbling a hot dog, one spot of mustard on her lower lip, another on her blouse. She didn’t stop chewing, but still managed to chuckle. “Oh Eugene, you say the same thing every Thursday when The Weekly Examiner arrives.”
“You don’t understand,” said Eugene. “This was the last newspaper in the world, and it’s going out of business.”
::and your soundtrack for today’s story::
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I recently turned 44. Not so long ago, when I was growing up in rural Northeastern Pennsylvania, the entirety of the “news” available to me included four, over-the-air, television channels, and one or two thin local newspapers. One of those newspapers was, and continues to be, printed once per week.
Bad news and politics have always been distressing, but back then, you only had to get upset at it in half-hour increments, a couple of times each day on TV, or when you picked up a newspaper.
Today we’re inundated by news constantly, and the veracity of what we’re inundated with is no longer a given. Today we get to be upset by the world we live in 24 hours per day.
Today’s story features a character who, once-per-week, finds the news upsetting, but feels compelled to read it anyway, as many of us do. But he’s also upset because the last print newspaper in the world is shutting down. Where will he get get his news now? Must he finally be perpetually disturbed by cable and internet news like the rest of the world? Meanwhile, his nonchalant wife stands by, blessed by her ability to be unconcerned by the troubles of the world around her, blissfully ignorant.
-Brian
Really liked this. Great background too.