|
| |
|
SEARCHING FOR
THE BRIGHT SIDE
|
|
We get two papers every morning, the San Francisco Chronicle
and the Marin Independent Journal. On the mornings we’re at the breakfast
table at the same time, my wife gets The Chronicle, and I grab the IJ. Then
we start perusing.
“Find anything yet?” I ask after a few minutes of silence,
a desperate tone in my voice.
“Not yet,” she replies. “You?”
I solemnly shake my head. “Nope. But I’m only on Page 6. I
still have hope.”
It was not to be. Once again, there was no good news to share.
Just the same old gloom and doom.
“How about a headline that says ’39.3 million Californians
Still Don’t Have Virus,” I asked. Or ‘150 Million Americans Going to
Work Today.’ That would be nice to see.”
“If it bleeds, it leads,” she replied, quoting the old
journalistic axiom. “Good news doesn’t sell as well.”
I get it. I’m just tired of it. My radio alarm goes off every
morning with the hourly news. I open my little eyes with the same optimistic
demeanor I’ve held all my life. Today is going to be the day. Cases
dropping, a vaccine breakthrough, a miracle treatment. Wahoo! LET’S
GOOOOOOOO!
Five minutes later, the pillow is over my face and I’m
wondering if that tickle in my throat means I’m a goner.
Nothing but bad news. I crawl out of bed, open the paper and
read more of the same. I check the news feed on Facebook and find alarming
articles that I refuse to read. Every once in a while I find a promising one
and gobble it up. It may be from some news organization I’ve never heard
of, but I don’t care. I’m desperate for good news.
Like the dinosaurs we are, we watch the network news in the
evening. I’ve switched from NBC to CBS to ABC and back again, trying to
find a newscast that is remotely uplifting. It’s no use.
All of them have the same format. One tragic and depressing
story after another, followed at the end by the anchor’s smiling face
saying, “And there’s some good news tonight.”
At this point, I’m slumped over, my head on the table, drink
or two in hand, thoroughly disconsolate. The network knows they’ve
demoralized their viewers and it’s time to throw them a bone. I look up,
knowing what’s coming. Sure enough, it’s the story of an 11 year old
making and selling masks and donating her profits to first responders.
Nice story, but not exactly a blockbuster. Down goes the head.
Again.
So why don’t I stop watching, or stop reading, or stop
listening? Because I know it’s going to get better, and I want to be the
first to see it, that’s why.
I try to gloss over the depressing stories, and gobble up
anything that is even slightly uplifting. And some mornings I get a bonus.
“I found one!” my wife exclaimed the other morning.
“New Zealand has absolutely no cases in their whole country. They’ve
beaten the virus, at least for the time being!!”
“Huzzah!!” I cried, as I scoured my paper. “I’ve got
one, too! Spain just lifted their State of Emergency! They were a mess and
now they’re moving forward.”
Suddenly, cases spiking in Texas, Arizona, Florida, Mississippi
and 20 other states took a backseat. This was good news and we were going
with it. The United States will get there, too. Someday.
“Look hard enough and you’ll find some good news,” said
my wife, who was now considering moving to New Zealand, at least until they
had a slight uptick of cases in the last few days. “Remember last week
when it was widely publicized that retail sales were up a whopping 17% in
May over April. Considering you own retail stores, that good news should
have fired you up.”
“It did,” I replied, “until you remember most retail
stores were closed in April. A 17% jump in sales from zero is not quite as
exciting. The media conveniently forgot to mention that fact.”
She did the math and acknowledged my frustration. “Well, at
least they tried to report some good news, even if it made no sense.”
I considered that thought for a few moments, and got inspired.
When the vaccine or treatments come, and when cases dwindle to oblivion, and
when fans return to arenas and social distancing and masks disappear, the
media will be there to report it. And they’ll be as eager as you or I to
let us know.
That’s why I keep watching, reading and listening. That day
will come.
|
|
|
