Last night we carved pumpkins. As we were getting everything ready, I made the observation that nobody has newspapers anymore. Most people get their news online.
“You can’t put your guts on the internet,” I said.
I was, of course, referring to pumpkin guts.
When I was a kid, carving pumpkins began with spreading newspapers across the kitchen table. They provided the perfect place to deposit all that slimy orange stuff we scooped out of our pumpkins.
It’s funny how something as simple as a newspaper can make you nostalgic.
And while we’re at it, what happened to the drawer full of rubber bands? Every household had one. We didn’t buy rubber bands. They just came with the newspaper and accumulated in a drawer until we had enough to last several lifetimes.
But back to the guts.
After my observation, I started thinking about how often we actually do put our guts on the internet. Our metaphorical guts, that is.
Social media has given us a place to share the innermost workings of our minds and hearts. We share our joys, disappointments, frustrations, and celebrations.
Back in my day—and there it is, I’ve officially become someone who says that. I’m not bitter. I’m just old.
People learned about their neighbors at the grocery store, over the fence, or at community gatherings. News traveled through conversations, phone calls, and the occasional bit of neighborhood gossip.
Now we can learn about someone’s family vacation, new grandbaby, latest frustration, or what they had for dinner without ever leaving the couch.
We’ve come a long way from carrier pigeons.
Of course, the irony of writing a blog about how much people share on the internet is not lost on me. Here I am, putting my own thoughts out there for anyone to read. Apparently, I’m not opposed to sharing a few guts myself.
And to think, all of this started because I couldn’t find a newspaper to put pumpkin guts on.
