Tired of it.

I received a notice from the newspaper that subscription prices were going to go up.  Grant you, they are only going up $2.60 per quarter, but when I started receiving the paper, I paid $20.00 per quarter.  Now it will be $35.10. 

It has now gotten to be too much.

All I really want is the Sunday newspaper.  They don't deliver Sunday only.  They deliver a weekend bundle which includes the papers from Friday - Monday.  Alone, it is an excessive use of paper. 

All I really want is Sunday.  The subscription rate hike notice finally put me over the edge.

We used to have a really wonderful woman that delivered the paper.  Way back in the day, when we had the old windows and the old doors that we had to seal in the winter, she noticed that I had to exit the side door to grab the paper off the front step and come back in the back.

She changed her delivery to my side door.

She was always on time.

She was always very quiet.

When the newspaper goofed up billing and sent her a stop paper notice on us, she delivered our paper and included it on the inside.  I called the paper, straightened it out and phoned Jeanne to thank her for slipping the notice into the paper.  She told me that she had delivered my paper for years, knew I was a good paying customer and that she had a customer down the street with the same problem.  She knew in her heart that it wasn't my fault and ignored their notice. 

I would leave a gift for her each Christmas.  It was something small, but usually hand dipped pretzels or handcrafted dish cloths that I buy from my friend.  That kind of thing.  She phoned me about the dish cloths and just loved them. 

Jeanne had taken on several different routes.  Her paper delivery enterprise had grown, and she passed our route on to her son.

He races up and down the street in a loud truck in the sometimes VERY early morning.

He comes to my back step and very loudly slams my paper down, waking me up each time he does it.  (She was always quiet as a church mouse.)

He isn't always on time with the paper. 

Finally, the additional monies required did me in and I called to cancel.  When the lady asked if it was okay to inquire why I was cancelling, I told her that the increase in rates combined with the fact that all I want is the Sunday paper is what it boils down to.  She was very kind and very understanding. 

My guess is that I wasn't her only cancellation today.

Now I have a plan.  I'll need to stop by the local grocery to get my Sunday paper.  I'll stop in before or after church, but buying a paper at $1.50 a week as opposed to the full weekend will save me $80.00 a year. 

Y'all, have you checked out the price of gas lately?  It was $4.15 a gallon today.  Thursday is usually a low day.  I drove past with my quarter of a tank while listening to my daughter in the back seat say, "Whoa, Mom!  That's WAAAAYYYYY too much." 

Yes, yes it is. 

Will I miss reading the paper on Friday, Saturday and Monday?  Yes.  I like holding paper.  I have a love for Johannes Gutenberg.  (Part of that alone would be the trained printmaker in me.)  Practically speaking, I can read those three days online just like I do the Tuesday - Thursday editions.  Yahoo is a good overall supplementation to the category of current events. 

I made the decision this morning and acted on it today.  What about you?  Do you still subscribe to the paper?  Do you enjoy type on paper leafing from one hand to the other? 

Smiles in my day:
-  K- is truly starting to beat the pants off of us in Uno. 

Have a great day!