In the News

When I was young, my father read The Times and The Tribune

The Times came in the morning and the Trib, the afternoon

 

He poured over their pages in his goal to stay informed

And he often uttered expletives while dinner rolls were warmed

 

He didn’t have a laptop and he didn’t use a mouse

But all the news we needed Cronkite brought into the house

 

On SATURDAY at 10 PM, he’s pocket a few dimes

And get the first edition of the SUNDAY New York Times

 

We’d drive down to the candy store and if we had good luck

We’d grab The Times (and Daily News) as they came off the truck

 

The Sunday Times was massive; a real marvel of the age

But my father wasn’t daunted and he read it page by page

 

I feel a little sadness

Maybe just a little shame

I can’t count on the President

To stop and do the same

 

I know the news is out there; I hear it every day

But all those trips and t-times must be getting in the way

 

Some may call it politics and some may call it lies

But it’s clear that every scandal always comes as a surprise

 

I heard an explanation or it could be just a fable

They trimmed the White House budget and they had to cut the cable

 

On every breaking story and on every super scoop

I guess that’s why the President’s been left out of the loop

 

Those old days weren’t half as bad as everyone alleges

When newsboys on their bikes tossed folded papers in our hedges

 

But if those newsies try it now, they’ll go down to defeat

For the front porch of the White House is just too far from the street.