Reading is Fundamental

"Run out and bring me the paper will ya?" That old familiar phrase shouted by my grandfather when wanting to get his news fix for the day. As I ran outside to grab the paper I always wondered what was so intriguing about news that he must read up on it every-single-day. In a town as small as ours, there couldn't possibly be that much going on. It's funny now to think just how nieve I was.

In an effort to provide more than just sartorial advice in the Art of Gentlemanship, 21stCG fully endorses other scholarly endeavors such as reading. While it is true that readership for many of our nation's newspapers are plummeting, as more readers turn to the web as their source of info, newspapers do have a place in the Gentleman's daily or weekly regimen. 

Sure, getting breaking news at it happes is important to all of us, and the "what happened yesterday" tone of newspapers may be off putting to some but consider this. Reading a newspaper is far more enjoyable than scrolling through an endless sea of hyperlinks, ritzy advertisements, and gossip in an effort to view the story. 

There's an interaction between reader and paper. Turning to the Sports section. Flipping to the Business. Folding, shifting and creasing the paper just right as to make it readable in your very own format.  We've all seen a man who can wield a newspaper, manuevering through it as effortlessly as leafing through a book.  My dad and grandad are those kind of men. Conversations with these men were much appreciated because they could talk about world events as well as the going-ons in their community. Try finding out whats going on in Cherokee County via CNN.com. I'll save you a hour, you can't.

So pick up a (Insert City) Times. Fold it, bend it, tear it how you like. It's yours. What you choose to do with it is limitless and you will be a better Gentleman because of it.