Pluggers by Rick McKee for January 22, 2023

Memories of freshly mimiographed worksheets way, waayyy back in the day!

When on the opening shift at the grocery store, I usually bring in the newspapers left outside by the newspaper delivery folk.

Eh but me can bearly sniffs Go Comics on me smartyphone.

Not much of that fresh newsprint any more. I’m down to weekend only newspaper delivery.

I’d prefer the aroma of the mimeograph papers from my childhood school days.

To me tis more of the feel than the smell :-)

Real paper Newspapers, how I miss them! In the mid-1960s I bought the Sunday editions of our two big-city papers for 50 cents each, including the store ads. Just lately, I gave into impulse and bought one of those Sunday papers at the grocery store a couple dozen miles South of the city, without checking the price: $5.75 — and without store ads! Apparently it was in a further, more expensive price zone, but not very much further! The Plugger Punch to the gut!

And way overpriced!

Pluggers, like newspapers and mimeographed copies are fading away. I think mimeoghraped copies already have, may the rest in peace.

Had a old mimeograph machine come into the thrift shop I volunteer at. Only a few of us knew what it was. Even had some stencils with it and a bottle of ink.

Those were the days, eh? …

I can’t afford a printed newspaper any more.

When I used to get the ST Louis Post Dispatch, it took both arms to carry in the Sunday edition, and all morning to read it. Now, it costs three times as much and has 10-12 pages, mostly ads. I subscribed for a while, just to provide life support, but about the third time I had to fish it out of a mud puddle, I decided that some things can simply be improved upon, and got it on line.

I do remember those days….

Indeed. The scent of the fresh bundle of papers for my routes in the winter, for some reason, hold firm in my memory.

As does the sound of money dropping through a pay phone. And the sound of the dial.

Boy, do I miss that…and home delivery. It’s snowing like all get out right now, but back when we had a paperboy, he would slide it between the front door and the storm door. We wouldn’t even have to step outside. That was worth the tip every week. I repeat, I miss that.

After reading all the comments, I was surprised no one mentioned the inspiration for this one: Robert Duvall’s infamous quote “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” from ‘Apocalypse Now’.

Our local paper (Arizona Republic) is so slanted it’s unfit for any use other than lining a bird cage.

Smells like… victory!

Yes, I do remember the distinctive aroma of fresh newsprint. That ink had unique smell.

Well this plugger likes the smell of coffee perking and pushing a button to get the electronic paper rather than searching where (always more distant in snow and rain) the delivery person tossed the paper if, in fact, they brought it today.

Our “local” newspaper is printed over 100 miles away. By the time it gets to town not only is the newsprint and ink no longer fresh, but neither is the news.

I loved our local afternoon newspaper. Fort Wayne, Indiana, News- Sentinel. 1833-2017. RIP.

At least he’s reading the important part.

I read the paper at night myself – after dinner. Since the pandemic started though, I have not wanted to touch the paper so I am temporarily reading it online – and I hate doing so, it is so hard to follow online.

Every time they raise the price of the subscription I call and complain and point out to them I am subscriber of over 40 years and they lower the price back to where it was.

Since I did not want to touch the paper when Covid started knowing someone was hand delivering it and touching it, I started reading it online. I was going to discontinue the paper edition and just get it online until I feel comfortable touching it again (and do not like reading things beyond small items online in general), but that would cost more than getting the paper and tossing it out unread while reading it online.

This plugger reads the online paper. The reason is because I don’t have to pay (it comes free from a family member’s subscription even though she doesn’t live with us). A few years back I bought papers to read and put it on the floor for an old dog who could no longer control it.