CAN I BORROW YOUR IPAD?

Well I guess the future train is pulling into the station and books and newspapers were laying on the track. Still alive but breathing is very shallow. Soon we well hear the death beep on the monitor. Damn you future! Couldn't you stop just before taking out paper? What did novels in print ever do to you. It was the text books wasn't it? You hated carrying around all your nerdy sciences books and said "someday I will kill all books!" Books' buddy newspaper was just collateral damage I guess.
I cry onto my keyboard. I had to receive the bad news in (of all things) an email. My favorite book store Borders is in money trouble. Maybe a bad day at the track. Who knows. All I know is that the local store by me will be shuttered. My wife went in Saturday night and reported back that it looked like a black Friday one time only sale. People picking what little meat was left on the stores bones for a fraction of their worth. Black Friday? More like black Saturday. Gone was my little table that I would sit at for hours reading all my favorite magazines for free. Gone was the comfortable chair that held me while I sat and flipped through books I never had to buy. The free listening stations for CD's never bought. Why oh why this? With all my help trying to keep the store opened.
I joke a little. But I am very sadden to think that the day will come when my grandchildren may never know what its like to hold a book in their hands. To have breakfast with the newspaper spread in front of you. The feel of the paper. The smell of the ink. I know Kindles and iPads will keep the written word out there. Story's in print will still exist. Letters will live on. Maybe these devices helped to save the written word. But to me an old dog I will resit this future as long as I can. The story's I read will be on paper. I may need huge reading glasses to read them. The effort will be worth it.
Maybe you too could pick up this paper sword. If more of us are seen reading instead of tapping little screens some from the young generation will want to try too. That is my wish. Make it so.
Meanwhile a machine has kicked some Jeopardy ass! I don't want to go into the little feeding pod.