News isn't the news you grew up with

I've been reading a lot of newspapers lately, now that my business is more print than ever before. The news you read in newspapers isn't what it used to be, and if it is, the paper may not be in business for long.

For small town papers, things are in some ways a little slower at changing. People still want to see the cute photos of the kids at the local elementary school, hear all the news from city council or know their neighbor made the dean's list in a traditional format. However, in the bigger cities/large towns, things are a bit tougher I think.

Newspapers are now competing with not just TV and Internet in general, but social media. I can tell you from a first person point of view that's true. My generation, some older than me and all the generations below me are falling more and more into this trend.

If it wasn't for my job, I wouldn't read the actual physical newspaper. Maybe I shouldn't say that, but it's true. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying newspapers aren't relevant, because they are. Our local government, schools etc. will always be relevant. That means we need local media in some form. However people more and more are going straight to the web. I like digital newspapers with the same design, but without all the black ink getting all over my hands.

I am a big subscriber to the idea that I can get on Facebook or Twitter and pick out what interests me most. The "marketplace of ideas." I see it and pick what I want. That may sound crazy, but really, even paper readers have been doing this a long time. We may look at the photos or a story or two we want, but most of us don't read the newspaper cover to cover.

That's why I think a lot of larger city papers have stories such as who the highest paid NBA player is, the controversy behind a bill proposed at city council or a deeper look into the local criminal justice system in a column style format. I much rather read about who the highest paid NBA player is than read a story which says "at city council Monday, the board voted to allow people to walk their dogs in the park." It would be more entertaining to read "Dogs in the Park? City workers will spend more time cleaning up after dogs than fixing your roads." Of course that's an exaggeration, but you get the idea.

News is becoming more and more entertainment. Is that to the detriment of society? Honestly, probably. But, I am not one to oppose it, as I am as guilty as all the other readers out there. It's the business. Yes, newspapers are a service, but they are also a business. Right now I guess we're in the business of informative entertainment.

No rights, not even divorce

Something I found interesting in today's headlines was that a Missouri man was denied a same-sex divorce. 

I find it kind of interesting, like the reporter in the above article, that this is one of the first things I've heard about gay couples fighting to be able to legally get a divorce.

I guess it makes sense that if a marriage isn't recognized by a state, a divorce wouldn't be either.

However, just like the right to be married, I think everyone should have the right to be divorced. Of course, I guess it's just a technicality, like marriage is these days anyways to many.

I am an avid television watcher, as my husband and friends can tell you. In one of my favorite "night-time soaps" (as my mother likes to call them), Grey's Anatomy, the two main characters don't get married at first. They self commit themselves to each other on a post-it note. It seems silly, and it is, but it gets a point across about how marriage is viewed by many today in the U.S. It's a piece of paper, saying that you have devoted yourself to each other. Now, I doubt most newly weds view it that way, or many married people. However, it is a statement saying by law (and depending on your beliefs, by God) you are bound together until death. (Or eternity, if you have that belief).

In the U.S. in 2014, it is common place for a man and a woman to live together instead of getting married. It's common for a man and a woman who are married to also be "separated" instead of divorced. So, the same goes for gay and lesbian couples. The only difference, is that if you want to ever have that piece of paper, saying you are married again, you have to take care of the first one.

So, sure this couple could be "separated" instead of divorced, and based on how Americans live now, it might not be that big of a deal that they aren't "officially divorced."

One of the articles on this story said this case "isn't about marriage equality," because all they want is a divorce. It's clear to me though, both allowing gay marriage and gay divorce is about the same thing: equality.

Equality is what America is founded on, right? We don't discriminated based on religion or disabilities right? Isn't it about time we start showing that instead of talking the big talk, while not walking the walk?

Even if it's against your religious beliefs, or your moral code, or whatever the case may be; same-sex marriage is about equality right along with same-sex divorce.

Local: Bye bye benefits

I remember in my younger and more naive days, which really wasn’t all that long ago, I believed people only volunteered to serve for their elected capacities. In my mind they received no compensation whatsoever.
Yeah, go ahead and laugh at my childish notions all you want to. I just thought all local politicians were always doing their duty out of the goodness of their hearts from the city officials to the county officials.
Since adulthood, I have come to realize that most elected officials whether in our city, in the state or in Washington D.C., receive some sort of compensation, whether great or small. At the last Stockton Board of Aldermen meeting, I found out that sometimes, the local politicians get benefits too.
Regardless of this fact, which did surprised me, what surprised me even further was how the Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to say goodbye to their benefits to save the city some money.
Note again, that it was unanimous. I would be lying, if I said there wasn’t any discussion over the idea of keeping the benefits or at least keeping them longer to continue to benefit those currently in office, but regardless it was a unanimous vote. 
After starting my job as a full-time journalist about three years ago, I have heard countless comments about how corrupt city, county, state and federal government is and how all they do is spend our hard-earned money. That may be true for some politicians, but I think all in all it's a stereotype we get from movies and television. Of course, I could be wrong when it comes to the big leagues, but I like to believe  it's not true.
I think this move by the Board of Aldermen was a statement that counteracts that stereotype. Would I give up my health care benefits so that my neighbor wouldn't have to pay as many taxes? Honestly, I don't know the answer, but I am glad I don't have to consider it. Health care is already considered something that's important to have, but not as easy or as affordable to get.
I don't know how good the health insurance benefits were for the city officials, or where they each stand financially, but either way, giving up benefits is a move for all the city residents of Stockton.
This is the first time I've felt the need to thank specifically city officials in a column, but here it is: Thanks city officials for proving the stereotype wrong.
It's like we learned as kids, a penny saved is a penny earned.

"I want to discriminate!"

So, I meant to post this a few weeks ago, but you'll have to forgive me, as I have been very busy with my new job.

"I want to discriminate," is the statement some religious nut jobs should have recently been making. Oh wait, they were, just not in so many words.

Springfield recently passed a "non-discrimination ordinance." In a nut shell the ordinance is an addition to a previous one, adding that employers renters etc., can't discriminate based on sexual orientation as well as what was already in place, which notated non-discrimination against race, religion etc. 

I get that religious leaders who have spoken out about this are against it because they believe it demonstrates an allowance for homosexuality. A lot of these churches believe homosexuality to be a sin, because it is preached against in the bible. Accepting it politically, or otherwise, is saying that it's acceptable, but by God's definition (based on the bible), it's not.

I am a religious person, and even I have my limits to where I believe lines should be drawn in politics, morally. I would be lying if I said I felt otherwise, but this ordinance is not one of those times to speak out, in my moral opinion.

I don't care if someone is African American, gay, white, straight, jewish, atheist, southern baptist or Amish. Why should anyone not be able to get a house or get a job based on these above labels? The only reason someone should be denied a job, is if they are truly not qualified, or another candidate is better qualified. The only reason someone should be denied a house, is simply because they don't have the financial qualifications or because there is a proven record of destroying property.

Just because we don't like what someone does, doesn't mean we should decide for them that they should not be able to live down the street from us. No matter what we think or feel, we can't make people be who we want them to be. All we can do is show kindness for other people, inspite of the things that we might believe are faults. I mean, after all, isn't that what Jesus taught? To love one another? It wasn't to love someone only if we think they live their lives to deserve it. 

They've stolen my blissful ignorance!!!

I have NEVER been a healthy eater, yet I ALWAYS say that I want to be. One day, I'll get there and hopefully before I have a heart-attack from eating cheeseburgers way too often.

However, there is a place where I draw the line. It's frozen cheeseburgers, which I don't like to begin with and despise when they come from one of my favorite fast food joints. 

If I was to sit down and think about it, it's obvious that most fast-food joint burgers themselves and other items come to the restaurant frozen already, delivered by large trucks. However, when I go to a restaurant - greasy fast food or otherwise - I like to at least think I am enjoying a nice hand prepped meal. It may sound silly to most, but I like that illusion and the blissful ignorance of going to a restaurant.

I know many people - journalists and health nuts mostly - who will read through all the restaurant inspections etc. and choose whether to go to a place or not, based on that. Well, I will tell you, I cook ALOT for my family and for others. I don't have cockroaches in my kitchen or open containers of raw meat stored above open containers of produce, but I am sure that mine, and many other home kitchens, would not pass the tests carried out by our system.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am glad that health code system is in place. I don't want to be eating somewhere that should clearly be shut down and be completely ignorant of it. But, in general I like the ignorance is bliss train of thought when it comes to my food. Sure, it's important to be informed that too many fatty cheeseburgers can kill me, but I don't really care to know how the cow was butchered etc. I like to pretend hamburger meat is just that: a burger. It's not a black and white cow that I might see as I am driving through small Missouri towns, it's just meat.

Now to many, especially those who grew up in the great outdoors, I just sound ignorant and ridiculous. I know that.

Now, how does this all tie in to this silly frozen meal concept? I don't want to know that the freezer burgers are similar to the ones in the restaurant. I'd like to be in blissful ignorance, thinking that each Steak N' Shake burger was made with love. :)

I know most people probably don't care about this as much as I do, and think I am being a silly little child. However, I don't care. This was the final straw that is probably going to make me want to NEVER eat Steak N' Shake again. I could ignore the extreme greasiness of the food and maybe how the floors are always greasy when I eat inside a Steak N' Shake, but now every time I go to the grocery store, I will be reminded of how one of the stops of my past had a big EPIC FAIL. If you knew how many times a working mom has to go to the grocery store, you would understand.

Will this blog come back to haunt me when I open up my own restaurant someday? Probably.

Moving is never easy

In a little over a week I will be leaving my current job, Editor of South County Mail to pursue a job with the Cedar County Republican . This means, not only changing jobs, but relocating. I really haven't relocated all that many times in my young life (cities and towns that is, not apartments, because I've lived in a lot of those.)

When I left my hometown in Rolla, Missouri, where I had lived my whole life, I was pursuing a Bachelor's Degree at Missouri State University in Springfield. Sure, I had traveled to places such as Hawaii, Scotland, England and various states in the U.S., but I had never lived anywhere else. Springfield, approximately 1 1/2 hours from Rolla, was not all that far from home, but the first time I had left to live anywhere else. My parents were older than most when I was born, so they were ready to settle down by then.

Since then, the only other place I have lived is Ozark. The city of Ozark is only about 20 minutes from Springfield, so it really wasn't much of an adventure and we did everything in Springfield then anyways.

After college, I freelanced a little while and then took my current job. Even though I stayed in Springfield, I really felt like I lived in many places. I truly felt like I was a part of Rogersville, Fordland and sometimes on rare occasions, Marshfield and Seymour. So now, as I live Springfield, I not only leave my home of 7 years behind, but I leave two other towns that feel like home.

I am very excited to move to Stockton, Missouri for many reasons. 1) The job will be great. 2) I'll be close to the lake. 3) We will be closer to my husband's family, that only lives about 20 minutes away.

However, it's hard to do. It seems strange to back up my belongings and move somewhere for a job, because technically, I've never done it before.

I am excited to embrace my new life, but I will be leaving an old one behind. It's sad, but happy all at the same time. I guess relocating is just part of growing up and I guess now it's time for me to make my own path.

It just feels odd to drive to a place and know it might be the last time you do so, right?

Here's my column I wrote for the paper.

No one else could do what he did

So, I told myself I wasn't going to blog about Robin Williams, because so much has already been said. What more is there to say? But, I couldn't help myself.

In my lifetime I remember a lot of celebrities who have died in various ways. Some have been ill, others died of old age, others died in plane crashes or something along those lines. I would have to say out of all the celebrity deaths, this one has hit me the hardest because there is no one else in this world who could do exactly what Williams could. (Kind of like The King of Pop, but that's a whole other story.)

Just about everyone who has ever watched comedy or movies, knows who Williams is. I was first introduced to his voice skills in Aladdin, which to this day, is still one of my favorite Disney movies. I could sing practically all the songs acapella, I know them so well.

Then as I got older I could appreciate Mrs. Doubtfire. A soon-to-be divorcee pretends to be an old woman so he be the nanny for his kids. I think this film always hit me hard because my father missed my half-sister so much after he got a divorce from her mother. Even to this day he refuses to watch any movie that involves divorce or a custody battle. I guess I related Williams to my father in a small part. A good father who just wants to be with his children.

Since then, I have grown very fond of his characters in Dead Poets Society, August Rush, One Hour Photo (it's a terrible movie, but his performance is absolutely stunning because it's so darn creepy), Jumanji, Night at the Museum (the first, not the second) and his Law and Order: SVU episodes (which were really darn good).

His death has made me realize a few things, but especially this:

It's easy to get caught up in our own world with work, friends, and entertainment. It reminds me how important it is to be there for other people. EVERYONE is going through something, even if we don't see it right away. I know when I am feeling blue the thing I want to turn to right away is either my friends or family. Some people keep it inside more, but I think the best thing we each can do, it let those we love know it. Don't delay! I know it sounds cheesy, "say it because each day might be our last." However, it's true, we never know when that person we're used to won't be there anymore. If my loved one is going through something, I sure hope I have let them know that I am there for them.