If a strategic planning meeting is called and nobody hears about it, does it really happen?

I’m at a loss.  How do you really communicate within a community?  I frequently get the comments: “Nobody reads the local newspaper.” “We don’t listen to the radio station.” “My email don’t work.” “I got a virus on my computer.” “I don’t have internet.” “I only have dail-up.” “I don’t look at my mail.” “I don’t remember getting that.”

Why is the answer NOT the community newspaper?  It doesn’t cost much and you can wrap fish guts in it when you are done.  Isn’t that what our Founding Fathers in their infinite wisdom used to communicate?  Hell, I think I even have a copy of the Federalist Papers around here somewhere.  No viruses, no AT&T, no commercial interruptions — it’s all in black and white and a little grainy grayscale.

Maybe reading a newspaper is a lost skill?  Scan the headlines.  If you want to know just about everything, read every headline and the first paragraph of every article… doesn’t take long.  Read the opinion page, it’s okay to get pissed off or fired up or to feel good.  Read the community events.  It doesn’t matter that I might waste my time learning that there will be a Zumba class at Farmers Exchange on Saturday.  I might find out that there is meeting to put a Rastafarian nuclear waste dump in my backyard on the 5th or maybe just that there are a lot of neat things happening in my corner of this harsh, cruel world.  And then, I can wrap fish guts in it.

Well, I better stop wasting my time and walk the dogs.  Nobody reads blogs anymore.