BREAKING NEWS

Years ago, I was hanging out with my two cats on a Saturday afternoon, in between jobs, watching PBS. An interesting, robust character, DR. WEIL, spoke in a segment about different ways to improve your life. One of his suggestions was to take a "news break" for one week, avoiding your regular routine of reading the paper and watching the TV (this must have been around 1995, because I wasn't online yet).

Back then I would get up at 5:30 AM everyday, not because I had to, but because someone kept stealing my morning newspaper and I had to beat them to it. That whole drama is a story in itself.

My forced news break gave me a reason to sleep in, almost hoping someone would steal my newspaper. But, low and behold, no matter how long I slept, when I awoke and peered through the blinds, that fresh roll of newsprint was on the lawn, calling out to me.

It was hard at first, passing on the morning headlines, skipping my horoscope, not being able to see who wrote to "Dear Abby", but I kept my promise to myself and kept stacking the papers on the back porch. When watching TV, if a news program came on then I immediately changed the channel. That was a bit harder because of the news teasers in between shows, it was like the local affiliates knew of my self-imposed plan and were out to foil it. I'd be in the middle of a "HOME IMPROVEMENT" rerun and local weatherman "Dave Murray" would slip in to warn us of an impending tornado. That really put me on the fence because it was news that had to do with my safety. I held out until the town sirens blasted and then dashed for the basement.

The best thing about my news break was missing out on politics. It made me realize that we don't have any power or interest in politics unless we get involved. Simply reading the newspaper does not mean you're involved in politics, it just means your reading about the people involved. It can make you feel pretty bad, always reading about something that concerns you but you have no power to influence or change.

After one week I felt better, my head in the clouds about current events (like most people), and there is something great about being naive to things. My life was no longer a routine of the morning paper and evening news, I could come and go as I pleased.

I went back to reading the paper, but with a new attitude. I learned that I needed to accept the things in the news that I cannot change, which is most of it. I also learned that if I don't care if someone steals my newspaper, then they won't take it.

Just this Saturday, someone stole our newspaper. Lovely Wife believes it wasn't delivered but I'm sure it was stolen, I know this game. So it's back to my old routine of getting up at 5:30 AM to nail the perp.

That tells me it's just about time for another "news break".