I need to know what’s going on in the world. As soon as I make my coffee in the morning, I park myself at my computer and start in on the news.
My reading of the news is selective. For example, I don’t read about catastrophes. Right now, I’m definitely not reading about the oil spill. I didn’t read about the attack on the Twin Towers, or the recent Times Square bomber. I can’t read about certain Supreme Court decisions, the Tea Party, Sarah Palin, the extinction of blue fin tuna or anything that’s said by Glen Beck- but I have to admit to a certain morbid fascination where Glen Beck is concerned.
I don’t read entertainment news. Who cares what the rich and famous are doing? I disdain the cult of celebrity. I don’t read the sports pages, unless a Philadelphia team is involved.
For all that I don’t read, I spend an inordinate amount of time reading. Since I’m here in Costa Rica, the first paper I check out in the morning is the AM Costa Rica. Then I move on to The New York Times. I’ve been reading the Times for about 40 years, and love it. I don’t know what I’d have to talk about if it weren’t for The Times. I’ve added The Huffington Post lately. And later in the day, the online paper, Inside Costa Rica. Add email, blogs, books- it’s a wonder I get any writing done at all.
