Story Telling

(Note: This essay is from 2006 I’ve edited it slightly.)

One particular day recently came and went like most but it also had a story-like quality to it. Dropping the kids at school, with their backpacks and lunches, became the first of the day's many transitions. 

I had gotten a slew of text messages on my cell phone, one of them (as it turned out) from a colleague who had missed her bus to the train, meaning she would get to work late. The other messages seemed to be marketing pitches or words meant for some other person. 

Not to worry. I had lunch with one of the loveliest, most idealistic young journalists I know: the kind of person we all once were, those of us who came out of the Sixties. She is almost 28 now, and her skill only grows with the passage of time. She is toiling for a newspaper, and suffering the all-too-common fate, these days, of an ever shrinking news budget.

One example: She had worked hard, gathering documents and sources for a story that, when properly constructed at bare bones, ran to about 1500 words. Mind you, this is hardly long-form journalism. In my years at Rolling Stone, we frequently wrote 20,000 word pieces.

But those days are gone. My friend's story was too long, her editor told her, and slashed it in half, so only 750 words were published.

After our lunch, I walked my young friend to her car, hugged her, picked her up (she is small and light), kissed her, and told her I love her. Because I do. I love her. Once, idealistic young journalists could look forward to a future where they might be able to make a difference; make things better. The "business" of news didn't force them to dumb down their work, cut it in half, leave out practically all of the documentation that would allow readers to draw their own conclusions and evaluate the reporter's work.

Despite her current frustrations, I hope my friend will continue to report and write far into the future, overcome the obstacles placed in her path, and follow her passions. She cares so deeply about the poor, and about kids, education, cities, the environment, justice, racial equality, families, and love. It made me happy to hear that her boyfriend is also a journalist and that he is good to her. 

The future of journalism, wherever it lies in terms of technologies and channels, rests in the custody of people like her. Yes, I love her. We all should. Without journalists who care, we can expect all of our democratic institutions, albeit imperfect, to deteriorate before our eyes.

***

At night, I visited with my Baby Boomer students in memoir class and listened to their stories. Ours is perhaps the last American generation raised in a time when reading (and writing) were still paramount. The hegemony of film and TV were established during their childhoods, but most people spent much more time reading than watching TV, which in any event, was hardly the excessive supermarket of choice it is today.

In our childhoods, many of us experienced as much "snow" on TV as we did content. Not only were there sometimes hours between shows; there were frequent technical breakdowns, rather like on today's Internet, but worse. Of course, the sound of that "snow" is actually the echo of the Big Bang -- such is the marvel of physics that we now know this to be true, though none of us did then. It just seemed like random sound, if somehow strangely compelling.

Now we know it is the echo of the sound of the birth of our universe. So, if a wise acre should claim that while listening to a non-channel's buzz, he was actually studying physics and ancient, ancient history, no one could refute his claim.

Anyway, I am the real learner among my memoir students. Their stories inspire me. Due to confidentiality, I cannot mention any of the particulars here. But I walk away from that class on Monday nights a richer man -- much richer in perspective than if I had only my own life to reflect upon.

After all, I live in an obsessive world of numbers, which is not a positive thing, according to my therapists. Lately, for instance, I've been adding up my daughter's birthday days (of the month) (67 or 22.3 each) and comparing that figure with my sons (22 or 7.3 each.) It's like playing a mental football game. The girls win. Go Girls!

Then, I do the same exercise by age -- the girls total 64 (or 21.3 each); the boys 47 (15.7), so again the girls have it, but by a closer margin. Hmmm, I'm starting to feel bad for my sons.

Then, I cut it by birth month, and this gets more competitive. Girls 18 (ave. 6). Boys 20 (ave. 6.7). Go Boys!

I won't bore you with the geometry of their social security number sequences or any of the other formulae that convulse through my brain, seemingly at will.

Math games. I’m told that's one way I cope with stress. We all need something. 

Another is by telling and retelling stories. Just like classes, lunches, hugs, and everything else of value, they all begin somewhere and somehow. Sometimes they have a bit of drama to them. Also they all come to an end.

This is that for this one.

LINKS:

• How Russia took Bakhmut: 'It's about bleeding the other side' (Telegraph)

• Ukraine restores power to Russia-occupied nuclear plant (Reuters)

• Ukraine pushes to surround Bakhmut in a new aim of ‘tactical encirclement’ (WP)

• U-Haul driver faces multiple charges after crashing into security barrier near White House in Lafayette Square, police say (CNN)

• Tim Scott Begins Presidential Campaign, Adding to List of Trump Challengers (NYT)

• Biden, McCarthy meeting ends with no deal on debt ceiling (Reuters)

• Biden and McCarthy wrangle over America’s debt ceiling (Economist)

• The Republicans’ Debt Ceiling Trap (TNR)

• Southwest states strike landmark deal with Biden to conserve Colorado River water (CNBC)

• A Firearm-Owning Republican’s Solutions for Gun Violence (Atlantic)

• Guns, Trump, and the G.O.P. (New Yorker)

• Facebook parent Meta hit with record fine for transferring European user data to US (AP)

• Medical AI's weaponization (Axios)

• Why Generative AI is a Bigger Threat to Apple Than Google or Amazon (Pymnts)

• For chemists, the AI revolution has yet to happen (Nature)

• How to Transcribe, Summarize and Chat With YouTube Videos Using ChatGPT (Beebom)

• ChatGPT Plus is getting a massive upgrade — here’s what’s coming (tom’s)

• AI is changing how Americans find jobs, get promoted and succeed at work (The Conversation)

• The Video Game Industry Is Slowly Waking Up to Climate Change (Cnet)

• Why rising sea levels pose existential threat to the Bahamas (Guardian)

• The Moon Has a Hidden Resource That Could Sustain Billions of Humans for 100,000 Years (The Conversation)

• Entire Company Under The Thumb Of Low-Level Employee Who Stayed Sober At Every Happy Hour (The Onion)