As I think back, I must say I have never known me or my family to not get the local newspaper. All my life, we have had it delivered to our house. For the past 28-plus years of my life I have been involved one form or fashion.
I remember after my dad was done with the paper we would get our silly putty out and roll it over the colored funnies. We also would clip out the good funnies and keep them.
Life was so much simpler back then. It seems nowadays everyone is too busy for anything. If you can’t get it on your phone, iPad or computer then you’re not going to look at it. Everything has to be at your fingertips, and it is.
I have to tell you I would go back to earlier years and live just fine. Yes I have technology and I use it, but if it went away I wouldn’t freak out. Something you don’t know about me is I still have a phone book in my desk. Yes, I sure do. Most people make fun of me but I have looked at it several times. I know you can find most numbers in a matter of seconds but I have used my phone book a many of times and keep it just in case.
People also make fun of me because I have a Rolodex on my desk. It is at my fingertips and I can put notes on them when someone tells me something about them or their business I need to know.
I have all the high-tech things but I like the old things better. It just works better for me. I am not that old and I still like it.
They say newspapers are a dying breed. Is it true? I guess you can say, “For most. Yes.” Most people would rather pull the paper up online and read what they want and disregard the rest. There are a lot of things you can find out about your town if you just pick up the paper and read it from cover to cover. There is a lot of local news going on —— the good, bad, and sometimes, ugly.
We report the news and for some they wouldn’t know what is going on without it. We may not get everything you want in the paper. Sometimes, it is because we can’t know everything unless you tell us. If it’s a big story, we know about it. But, if not ,we need your help in getting the information into our paper. We try our best to get everything in we can. We don’t take sides we just report the news.
I know there are some people that don’t think the newspaper is worth the money they pay for it — and that is fine. But look at it this way, we have to charge for the paper in order to make a living. We have several people that work for us.
Yes, we now charge for online access to things. Some folks think it is unfair. Do you give your business away for free? You wouldn’t come and do a service and do it for free, right? Well that is the same with the newspaper. We are giving you a service and telling the news.
The cost of living goes up every year. Food, gas, clothes and entertainment all have a price, and because of the cost of living, all goes up every year.
If we would all do our jobs, shop local and support one another, we would all be able to make a living and employ others and help them make a living. Let’s make that one of our goals for the upcoming year. Stop complaining about others, and help all who own businesses succeed this year.
So sit, have a coffee and enjoy the paper. One day you will be glad you took a timeout to do so.
One-Pan No Peek Chicken
INGREDIENTS
5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 boxes Zatarain’s Long Grain & Wild Rice Mix, (7 oz each)
1 can cream of celery soup, (10.25 oz each)
1 can cream of mushroom soup, (10.25 oz each)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/4 can water, (soup can)
1 box Lipton Onion Soup Mix, (2 packets)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine rice mix, cream of celery soup, cream of mushroom soup, garlic powder, and water in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Mix well.
Place chicken evenly on top of rice mixture. Sprinkle with onion soup mix. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake 1 hour 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes.
Note: DON’T open the oven to peek at the chicken and for sure DON’T remove the foil!
Tina Specht is co-publisher of the Minden Press-Herald. She shares her thoughts and recipes each Thursday.