Hell on Earth

It has been a trend this century for all over the United States in cities of various sizes one newspaper after another goes out of business. Many magazines are also gone, or online only. The Copley family in Mission Valley made money with real estate, and with ownership of The San Diego Union Tribune. Now there are signs of a downturn for the paper which has been here for well over half a century. A Green Tree store near Broadway and H St. sells the paper for $1.00. Other stores where the Union-Trib is sold rarely if ever sell all of there copies. There was a time when people bought the paper in blue metal containers on sidewalks. Customers put money in a slot and took a copy of the paper out. Those were called honor boxes since now and then someone paid for one copy, and grabbed several. It will be a sorry sign of the times if the local San Diego newspaper is forced to close its doors since insufficient readers to pay writers, and photographers still read it. Why bother since information is available on tv, and on the internet? No one cares about old traditions which are swept away by the speed and greed which are twin demons propelling society forward. Technological progress is constant. To what end if a war which decimates a country, is likely to be followed by another one when it is over, and widespread poverty, and millions of refugees mean that planet Earth is a paradise for some, a hell for others.

Deuel Woodward resides in Chula Vista.