Every time you extol the virtues of "several changes" to your newspaper, I cringe with disappointment. Apparently "several changes" is the latest buzz term for downsizing. My morning newspaper will soon be no more than a flier slipped under my door mat each morning.

The feel of the daily written word in my hand, the crinkle of a turned page, even the odor of freshly printed paper all contribute to my morning wake-up call. My newspaper is portable and can easily be held in the same hand as my coffee mug. I can sit, stand or lean to read it. It travels well and can assume a variety of intricately folded forms.

I like my computer; I use my computer. I do not "read" my computer. Staring at a brightly lit screen while simultaneously typing, clicking and scrolling may be technologically correct, but it sure makes it hard to neatly fit my carefully printed letters inside the crossword puzzle with my roller tip pen.

Forecasters blatantly predict the extinction of the newspaper by 2040. Computers, television, iPods and their cousins yet to be marketed will cause this demise. The chances of my being alive by then are pretty slim.

May one of my last movements on earth be that of bending over to pick up my morning paper from my front stoop! May my children and their children be able to relish the sight, sound, feel and odor of their morning paper!

Donna V. King

Raleigh

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