newspapers Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

Newspaper delivery and a bank call

$1 bills in the ATM

Oddly, my newspaper delivery and a bank call made me feel nostalgic.

Our newspaper deliverer called us Sunday night, leaving us a message on the answering machine that the Times Union had altered the delivery route and that they wouldn’t be delivering for us starting Monday morning. They asked us to call them back, but I didn’t initially have a chance.

On Monday, the paper was delivered to the sidewalk curb. Tuesday’s paper made it to the sidewalk, and Wednesday’s was on the edge of the grass near the sidewalk.

I called our previous deliverer, who was always gracious and promptly got the paper to us, barring a blizzard or TU production problem. They got shifted to a downtown route with a day’s notice.

I called the Times Union circulation number – a lovely one, BTW, 518 454-5454 – about the new less-than-useful delivery person. Surprisingly, I got to a Real Person after a few automated options.

I noted that the previous folks had always delivered the paper to the porch. Then, I stated that I had delivered papers as a young teen – Binghamton’s Evening and Sunday Press – and that I always threw them on the porch. (This is technically not true; sometimes, they wanted the paper between the front and the screen doors or in a milk carton, and I would accommodate that. BTW, I can still fold and toss a weekday newspaper.)

The TU representative agreed with my assessment and put the information in a portal where the new delivery person would see it. Sure enough, our papers landed on the porch subsequently.

Bank call

On the same Wednesday, my bank’s branch manager called me to see if I had any questions or issues. I had assumed he was calling about a problem or to get me to utilize a different bank product.

Nope, he just wanted to know how things were going. I was fascinated that he knew I was a bank customer three acquisitions ago, in February 1978!

I did have one question. Why can’t I get one-dollar bills from the ATM? The answer is that I can, but only through the drive-through ATM. It reminded me of the drive-throughs I’ve used in New Paltz and Schenectady, when I had to avoid the motor vehicles gingerly.

He did want to see my DMV card because the one they had on file had expired years ago. I didn’t recall I had given the bank that info. Later, I walked to the branch and showed the guy the info. I shared with him that I worked at that 1978 antecedent, but quit, because I took a job at the Schenectady Arts Council. I went from making $6,000 to $8,200 per year. Also, I wouldn’t have to spend an hour trying to find why I was a nickel off.

Some days, I wonder what happens with my days. Sure, I play Wordle, Quordle, and Connections, make breakfast, write a blog post, load or empty the dishwasher, work on getting speakers for the library, pay bills, and try to keep up with the news. But where does the REST of the time go? On that particular day, I was engaging in a bit of nostalgia.

ARA: newspaper route

“newspapers were wildly profitable”

My first Ask Roger Anything questions come from my dear friend Cecily:

Did you have a newspaper route in your youth?

I had a route delivering the Evening and Sunday Press in Binghamton, NY. I’m not positive of the time frame, but it would have had to have been after July 1965 because I subsequently joined the Capitol Record Club. One of the first things I purchased was Beatles VI, which came out that month.

Moreover, I would have had to have been delivering the paper in December 1966 because my father helped me on Sunday Christmas morning, something he never did before or after.

I didn’t make a whole heck of a lot of money. My route ran from the corner of Oak Street and Clinton at a barbershop to a large apartment complex called the Dwight block on Front Street and McDonald Ave., which surrounded a Front Street store called Henry’s. So monetarily, I did OK on Clinton, took a bath financially on the Dwight block, but did very well on McDonald Ave, from which you can see the Chenango River.

(BTW, the newspaper delivers don’t have to try to collect the money anymore; the newspapers do that.)

I should note that I inherited the route from a guy from my church named Walter Jones, who was a couple of years older than me. He was my parents’ godson. His grandparents, the Whitfields, were my godparents. His aunt (his mother’s sister), Mrs. Hamlin, was the organist at my church and tried to teach me how to play piano.

First Ward

We were all in a very small geographic area. Walter lived on the corner of Everett and Elm, one block from Daniel Dickinson School, which we attended. Trinity AME Zion church was about three blocks from his house and a block from mine.

Not incidentally, I later inherited Walter’s job as a page at the Binghamton Public Library under the guidance of a woman named Beccye Fawcett, who attended my church. I believe that she was the first black librarian in Binghamton.

Walter’s daughter is Amanda Jones, who is a well-regarded composer in the television and film industry.

If so, did you have one of those strapped canvas carriers, especially for Sunday editions?

Yes, I did have one of those, but I seldom used it, and never on Sunday; the thing hurt my shoulder. Instead, as I indicated recently, I often used a shopping cart.

There are reports that even as newspapers are delivered, and fewer are in the carrier, it seems to get HEAVIER!

How can that occur?

I had not heard that, and I can’t find any verification. Based on the last ones I’ve seen, the merged Binghamton newspaper feels unsubstantial even on Sunday. Moreover, newspapers are generally shrinking in width.

CHQ

When my wife and I went to Chautauqua in the summer of 2024, journalist Margaret Sullivan noted that at the end of the 20th century: “At the time, newspapers were wildly profitable because advertisers had few ways to target their potential customers. But competition, first from Craigslist, hurt the bottom. Eventually, Facebook, Google, and others circulated the expensive-to-create news content for free, and this gutted newsrooms.”

Print subscriptions have decreased since 1990, though online subscriptions have been rising.

Here’s some trivia: “The most massive single issue of a newspaper was the 14 September 1987 edition of the Sunday New York Times, which weighed more than 5.4kg (12lb) and contained 1,612 pages.

Based on ads, finding people to deliver the paper has been harder, even as fewer people buy the physical object. Our delivery people are adults with cars because the geographic range of physical subscribers is much larger than when I was young.

Even though it’s not the advertising Mecca it used to be, potential LLCs must still run ads in New York State. The newspaper is still the place for obituaries, especially on Sundays, even though they are expensive and can often be accessed online.

Shopping carts

newspapers

In mid-October, I went to the Price Chopper/Market 32 grocery store nearest my home on Madison Avenue, but I couldn’t find any shopping carts. I used a basket they had in the store that I hadn’t seen for a while.

I did my shopping. When I checked out, I asked the cashier. They told me the store had done some work on its entrances and exits. Someone had turned off the mechanism that locked the shopping cart wheels when the carts reached the parking lot’s perimeter.

As a result, many shopping carts disappeared. When I went shopping the next week, I found a single cart outdoors. As I finished my shopping, I passed along my cart to a customer seeking one. It took about a month, but they have been replenished,

Evening Press

I thought about this a lot because shopping carts always hung out on the street when I was a kid. When I had a newspaper route when I was 12 and 13, I often used the shopping cart. I never took it from the store, but they would always be available, like a community resource. That was probably the delusion of a tween.

One day, as usual, I was taking a cart to the pick-up point for the Evening and Sunday Press in my section of Binghamton, NY. Some guy stopped his car and said, “Oh, that cart belongs to our store. Do you wanna get arrested?” I said no, and I let him take the cart. In retrospect, I don’t know that he worked for the supermarket since there was nothing on the car indicating that. But by the time I reached the pick-up point, I had found another cart.

Cities now have abandoned cart regulations, which I reckon is a good thing. Albany has such legislation, but it’s been not as successful as hoped.

Speaking of crime, my Price Chopper store has had an armed security guard at the entranceway for about the last year. It startled me initially, but now I see the person and shrug. It does not make me feel any more secure—in fact, it is probably the opposite—but I know many other stores in the area have hired armed personnel.

Series of everyday annoyances

change of policy

I noticed a series of everyday annoyances. Some were small and brief, but still…

ITEM: I wrote this letter to a local newspaper to which I subscribe. I’ll call it Teeyou.

I have been a subscriber for many years. Our family believes that supporting local media is important for the democratic process. And we like helping our delivery folks, who have been very amiable.

Still, I am quite irritated. The subscription price went up from X to X+$8 [per month]. I know this because my DISCOVER card email noted today, “Your recent recurring charge seems a little outside your normal spending with this merchant.”

I tried calling you folks… to see what other options are available, such as delivery for Sunday only, Sunday and Thursday only, or only online, but I couldn’t navigate that menu.

So I tried to access you on the website. I get to the Link Subscription. “Your print subscription includes unlimited digital access. To get started, set up a digital account below.”

[I explain how its portal sent me into an interminable loop] I go through this process AGAIN and AGAIN. You FIND my subscription, but I can’t get any more detail.

Given that I could cancel the thing for a month and then get my daughter to subscribe for $1 for six months, the processes are rather enraging.

PLEASE let me know what the other subscription options are.

But, but…

Here is the reply:

Thank you for contacting Teeyou. Reviewing the information provided, I noticed you had a rate change on 11/16/2022… Rate increases happen due to production and employee costs at least once a year as is on the back of your bill [I don’t receive a bill] or on the second page of your newspaper. However, for being one of our valued subscribers, the system allowed me to lower the rate to [slightly below the price before the increase]

Please confirm if you agree to the new rate so I can apply the changes to your account.

Thank you for being a valued subscriber,

Customer Service Management

Note that they NEVER actually answered my question about options.

ITEM: As I noted, St. Peter’s Hospital and CDPHP, the insurance company that my wife and daughter have through my retirement, were at loggerheads over reimbursement. My former employer’s people assumed it would be resolved. The problem was that I had to decide by November 30, one way or another. I decided to change to another policy on that last day. And on December 3, the entities resolved their differences.

ITEM: Our mail was not delivered at least four times since Halloween. Thrice it was doubled up, with so much mail cascading from the mailbox that it looked like waterfalls. The fourth time, our postal delivery person was delivering on Sunday. BTW, I recognize that our regular guy is fastidiously trying to get letters and packages delivered.

ITEM: The urgent care company I wanted my daughter to visit last month encourages going to their website. But I couldn’t use it after they closed for the day; one can’t even make an appointment for a future date. BTW, they also say one can just show up, but experience tells me that would be a three-hour wait.

ITEM: New York State law requires vehicles using their windshield wipers must have their lights on. But this black car heading towards us didn’t, and it wasn’t easy to see. As it turned out, it was an Albany police car. I hate when that happens.

December Questions for Sunday Stealing

french revolution

Here are some December Questions for Sunday Stealing.

1. My plans for December

I’m happy that the church choir is singing in person again regularly. We did sing in late 2021, but it was sporadic; half the choir sang one week, then just the soloists, then the other half, then the soloists. It wasn’t easy to get a musical rhythm. We all did sing on Christmas Eve.

2. How energized I feel at this point in the year.

It’s cold, and it’s darker for longer. But it’s not awful.

3. The best things about the holiday season

Music. Singing it, listening to it. BTW, my bud fillyjonk linked to a great piece by the Monkees!

4. Something that changed my perspective on life

The whole year has been a series of Plan B moments.

5. What I seem to get the most comments about

Evidently, I am a very expressive singer. Even strangers have commented on it.

6. The changes I’ve made to my style

I have no style. Or, more correctly, I don’t care about style to be concerned enough to change it.

7. What gets in the way of my success

Overcommitting

The fourth estate

8. News sources I trust the most

I look at LOTS of sources, even ones I don’t particularly trust. It helps inform me how people with different, even, IMO bizarre, thoughts about the world get their ideas.

9. Fictional characters that would easily fit into my life

I thought that certain iterations of Peter Parker, the seeming schlub who is unappreciated, would be a friend.

10. My relationship with spirituality

You’re almost certainly wrong if you think you’ve got it figured out. Mainline churches have liturgies that repeat every three years because one should be taking something new from the stories.

Of course, in my Bible group, we often comment that we’d like to see our pastors tackle some particularly odious passages. We’re in the middle of 2 Kings, some ferocious stuff.

11. How I feel when I’m being retrospective

Depends. Sometimes it is with great appreciation that I have good friends, some of whom I’ve known for half a century or longer. Other times it is with regret that I didn’t deal with someone better.

Artificial intelligence

12. My thoughts on AI technology

I went to DeepAI and used the prompt, “The french revolution was good.” Here’s the result:

the french revolution was good, I wish I could have played," says the former striker. "You don't go into Spain believing you can go there and play there but I think maybe that was the case.

"The pressure is intense at training because you've got to do everything you can to be successful, because in Spain these days a lot of people do that work and do everything you can to get yourself in top form. So I don't know why we haven't worked hard for some time but definitely the feeling has changed for me.

"The pressure on you in training is intense. I have to go out there and play every minute of any game and try to stay mentally sharp. It's nice to be back at home and feel calm in training or off in the dressing room after all these years."

I find some AI art interesting, but other pieces are rather creepy.

This gets into a whole series of philosophical questions about intellectual property. Plus, what is… knowledge/art/writing/creativity?

13. The odd/weird things I do when nobody else is around

I don’t think it’s all that odd. I talk to myself, especially when I’m writing. It helps me think.

14. What do I do when I can’t sleep

Get up and play Wordle. Read newspapers.

15. The winter/holiday season tasks I enjoy

I like buying presents for people who are easy to buy for, such as my daughter. Conversely, my wife is terrible to shop for because she doesn’t hint well.