Bob Schwartz

My day begins with no mail and no news.

How hard is that? Well, the devices surrounding me are begging me. Not unlike the bottle in Wonderland that implored Alice “Drink me,” these insist “Read me, watch me.”

This isn’t entirely new. Before digital (BD) the phone could ring first thing in the morning. You could wake up to TV news, which many still do.

But now, nothing is unknowable at any time, about the world in general or about your life in particular. All of it available the moment you wake.

If a flash flood is heading to my door, or a loved one needs me right now, of course I want to know it. But most things can wait a little while, while the big little world of first light finds its shape and way. If someone famous is dead, they will still be dead. If some politician has said something stupid, or improbably brilliant, there will be time for that. If a war is getting worse or better, I will bemoan the conflict or celebrate the prospect of peace. Just a tiny bit later.

Right now, the raw and unpolished jewel of the day begins.

HBKK. That’s the news that matters.