Hello again.
Six months ago when I left the Record-Eagle, this column stopped appearing in the paper. Since then, I've heard from a variety of people that they missed seeing it here. I have also missed writing it, and the exchange with readers that had been part of it during the 16 years it ran.
Well, the editor and I have decided to resume this column on an every-other-week basis. I feel very lucky to be back, and look forward to being in touch again. Like before, I'll write about life's little mysteries and quirks, from both my own as well as others' experiences.
Today I'm writing about the current information overload on the dismal state of the economy.
Like many people, after Sept. 11, 2001, I was glued to the TV news channels and didn't listen to anything but National Public Radio in the car morning and night. Working at the paper, I could scan the wire services several times daily for the latest updates as well.
On that Sept. 11, our world turned upside down and an inescapable feeling of fear and vulnerability set in. Parents always assure their kids that they will be safe and things will be alright, and mean it. As of that day, those words rang hollow -- even false.
Combined with the nonstop news flow, anxiety set in. I never for a moment could feel that all was well with the world.
So I stopped watching the TV news. A regular listener to drive time public radio news, I switched it off and loaded the car with CDs. For three years. I got my news in small, manageable doses from the newspaper. And I calmed down.
That all comes to mind now as we are fed a constant deluge of the bad news out of Washington, Wall Street and Detroit. The all-news channels have to fill their time with something and so of course this is what they talk about, nonstop. I wake up listening to NPR; it's one gloomy report after another after another. At night, it's CNN and more of the same.
Of course, this is a big story. Obviously none of us can ignore it, or bury our heads in the sand as Americans tend to want to do, too often.
But I think a steady stream of bad news from every possible angle, nonstop, helps kill hope and optimism. It plants seeds of doubt when we ought to be cultivating strength and resolve and a belief that we will get out of this mess -- and that better times are ahead. I am an optimist, and I truly believe they are. I often say that my tombstone will read, "Things could be worse."
So the radio is going off. So is the TV.
Newspapers always were my favorite anyway.
Kathy Gibbons can be reached care of the Record-Eagle or via e-mail at gibbonskath@yahoo.com.
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