One of the best parts of Saturdays when I was a young lad was buying the newspaper. The Montreal Gazette was a fat mass of pulpy paper and ink, loaded with articles, movie reviews, TV Times, and my favorite section, the comics. Calvin and Hobbes (arguably, the finest comic strip ever) always brought a smile to my face, and The Farside was hit-or-miss, but always interesting.
It was easy to spend a good hour leafing through the paper, and I inevitably left smudged fingerprints all over the room afterwards. Even the Classifieds were a substantial section, and it was cool to note the stuff for sale and jobs offered for readers.
This past weekend, I picked up a copy for the first time in years; I was shocked at how thin it had become, and the sections that I used to enjoy pouring over were brief and dull. After a few minutes, it ended up in the recycling bin, and I was dismayed that I couldn't replicate the simple enjoyment I'd felt in the 'old days'.
Obviously, the sad state of this paper is a reflection of lower interest in print media, and little need for an English newspaper in Montreal. Folk have a multitude of options at hand for their news, weather, and sports: cable TV channels and the internet have effectively whittled down the necessity for a newspaper.
Which is a shame, in the end. But that's the price of 'progress', I suppose.
I would love reading those comic strips!!!
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