Where is my paper? At end of the drive!

We have said goodbye to hand written invitations and thank you notes in favor of faster, less expensive and less personal e-vites. We have said goodbye to open doors and windows in favor of homes which move from heat to air conditioning without a hint of summer breezes or crisp fall air blowing through our rooms. We have said goodbye to neighborhood children who pour into our yards without invitations in favor of well organized play dates. We have said goodbye to long summer evenings where neighbors strolled the sidewalks in favor of TV and video games. Now we have said goodbye to the familiar and comforting thump of the morning Daily Herald hitting the front step. The Herald has decided that it can no longer afford this hometown paper philosophy which separated it from its larger but impersonal competitors. For reasons that I'm sure have been justified by data from corporate offices, gone are the days of retrieving the paper without shoes, or snow boots or umbrellas. No longer does that thump against the front door followed by the barking of my dog trigger the start of a new day. If this is what is meant by moving forward, I don't like it. I don't like it at all.

Lilly Fischer

Vernon Hills