By Darren Johnson
Journal & Press
The historic families that had owned The Journal & Press (est. 1842) likely would have felt a bit jealous if they could know that, someday, the owner of it (me) would be producing the latest edition via an Atlantic City Boardwalk hotel. But, alas, I took the photo of the salt water taffy on this page to prove where I am, which you will see soon in your mailbox or on newsstands. As long as the hotel Wi-Fi allows me, I will be uploading this edition to the printer’s server soon, and then I’ll grab the bundles of finished newspapers on my way back to Greenwich. Ah, technology.
But don’t begrudge me this little midweek car trip. Since the pandemic, I’ve only gotten out of the state for business. I don’t think I’ve been in an actual swimming pool in two years. And I used to swim all of the time. Hard to believe seeing me now, but I even lifeguarded a bit when more youthful. My family and I used to go on vacation a lot more – but the pandemic stifled all that.
Yes, definitely, the pandemic has been a horrible thing, and many have died, which shouldn’t be forgotten, but one positive is that it has created a psychological reset for many, including myself, where we can now appreciate things we had grown weary of, or had forgotten about.
Atlantic City is a place I’ve been to many times. My parents even took me here a few times as a kid. And, on the surface, much of the Boardwalk seems run down today, but it’s still functional. The ice cream and funnel cakes still taste good. The beach is fine – I feel like Atlantic City is almost underrated. The hotels are much more affordable than, say, Myrtle Beach, and, like there, you can just pull your Wonder Wheeler full of chairs and a cooler about 100 yards from your room onto the sand as the waves crash.
The little store in my hotel sells newspapers, and, while I get newspapers all of the time, I rarely get to hunker down with one, being so busy making a living. I grabbed a New York Post – the one after Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation – and it was great. So much content – for only $2. Yes, a lot of the pieces had a bite to them – and in this day and age people use that as an excuse not to buy newspapers – but they are missing out on a great educational value. Sure, one or two stories in any paper may clash with our Facebook-algorithm-hypnotized worldviews, but how about the other few dozen stories? Why miss out on them? Being on vacation, and having the ability to look at a paper uninterrupted, helped me appreciate what a wonder they really are.
Yet, I digress.
I also find myself looking forward to county fairs, and even the state fair. As my daughter had aged out of being wowed by baby animals and merry-go-rounds, and my stomach started rebelling against deep-fried-anything, we stopped going a few years ago. But we’re going to do the Washington County Fair and probably the New York State Fair this season. Stomach be damned. There’s always Zantac.
Darren Johnson owns the historic Journal & Press newspaper in Upstate New York as well as the multi-college student newspaper Campus News. Contact him at editor@journalandpress.com.
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