The thing of paper is slowly becoming a thing of the past.

In a couple of generations the “newly” printed word will be a thing of the past. I would bet on it. Heck, it might not even take that long.  It started with the death of the handwritten letter.

Johnny-boy Gutenberg first ran that old lined-up-moveable-type around 1450. So we’ve had, roughly, 550 years of printed pages. With the advent of…. and the malleability of the internet, there seems to be a declining need for paper and ink.

I was remembering when I was a kid. The newspaper was a darn big deal back then. We got two of them. The Journal Herald in the morning, and The Dayton Daily News in the afternoon. I guess we wanted to keep up on the latest.

But really, that was our main source of news and information. These days there is an ambush of new programs, back to back, on the local stations. Not to mention CNN and all else at our fingertips. Back then…. I think there was the 6 o’clock news. But we ate dinner then.

So the newspapers were our go to thumb on the pulse of things. While we hit all the sections, it was the last part of the paper that we longed for. I think it was called The Leisure Section in those days. Section D.

A little something for everyone. My Dad loved the crossword puzzles and the column about bridge. Mom had a thing for horoscopes. She also liked Dear Abby, and Erma Bombeck.

Of course, all the kids loved the comics. I had my favorites. But all in all, they were just simple, unassuming fun. Peanuts was the best.

But back to the deal. Just about everything that came about in the “technology” world of yesteryear, was dismissed as being a fad for foolish.
From the automobile, to the electric lightbulb, to the television. People were just not buying in to those things which seemed to untrue. Inventors had proven those things would work. But “the masses” never believed it could go mainstream.

People don’t believe now that books will go away. They say there is “just something about holding a book in your hands and turning the pages.” I totally agree. But this newest generation of learners barely touch books, or writing utensils. They quit teaching handwriting in schools. Soon, people won’t know how to sign their names in cursive. We will all have digital “signatures” in the form of an eye scan, or thumbprint.

Yes. Things they are a changing.
And at this moment, we are reading  a bunch of 1s and 0s on an LCD Display. The printing press is gathering dust. I bet Gutenberg never thought it would die out so quickly.  And I bet he had beautiful handwriting.

I’m going to write a book about it.

We would like to live as we once lived, but history will not permit it. —  John F. Kennedy