Give me the hard copy!

My ex-fiance once labeled me a "control freak." He said I was often incapable of spontaneity, that I always wanted to stick to my plan and would freak out if I was derailed.

I prefer to think of myself as a creature of habit, someone who loves to have a daily routine. There's a certain comfort in the familiar.

That's why the latest news about the Rocky Mountain News ceasing publication today unnerves me. From the Washington Post:

These are dark days for the struggling news business. Hearst threatened this week to close the San Francisco Chronicle unless major budget cuts are imposed or a buyer is found, and is also prepared to close the Seattle Post-Intelligencer if it cannot be sold. The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News filed for bankruptcy protection this week, joining Chicago's Tribune Co. and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in Chapter 11 status.

I read a newspaper every single morning. I go out to the curb amidst the twittering early birds and collect my local daily paper. I pour a big cup of coffee and start going through the newspaper from front to back. The news, the local news, the obituaries, the op-ed, the sports, the lifestyles - I devour it all. The only section I skip is the classifieds! I can't imagine not fondling the newsprint, squinting to read the ever-tinier print in the comics and scoffing at the ridiculous letters to the editor. I save the puzzles for later in the day, but I do many of them: the Jumble, the Crossword, the Crytoquote. I can't imagine not starting my day that way. And I am amazed by people who don't read one.

Yes, I also read the non-local papers on-line. The New York Times is the second bookmark I hit every morning (after email), followed by the Boston Globe. But I would miss that physical paper every day. I hate doing the puzzles on line - those alone are worth the subscription price to me.

What would we do without a daily newspaper? I hope that I never have to find out.