By accident, through the chance alignment of vacation and halted newspaper delivery, I had become a virtual Sunday-paper reader. Never mind the larger implications of this change for the newspaper business. My friend and I may represent the industry's worst nightmare - people for whom the print and online editions of a newspaper actually compete, who, for practical or philosophical reasons, choose the free online edition over the paid, print one. Nor are we, middle-aged white females, the obvious demographic that would threaten the future of print. Pure cotton is a pleasure all its own, hampered only by its need for care and feeding.
Newspapers are much the same.
Both versions, print and online, have much to recommend them, and rituals of their own. At heart, I remain a purist in both camps. I'll always defend the virtues of pure cotton and real newspapers. And I'm glad to be living at a time when ironing, and ink, are optional. Joan Silverman is a freelance writer living in Boston.