Newsboys
I remember when there were Newsboys
on every street corner downtown
they made a living hawking the paper
yelling out the Headlines to get your interest
they were our broadcasters
creating curiosity with their sensational shouts
they made you want to buy a paper
to read the rest of the story
young boys and grown men
did this thankless job
getting up at 4am
staking down the best street corner
to then sell and distribute the morning news
some of the newsboys were crippled
some blind
some barely hanging on by a thread
always on the corner rain or shine
you always felt sorry for them
it was a tough job
being on your feet so many hours
with too many cars passing by without a sale
still the Newsboys persisted
making only pennies on the hundred
there was not a lot of money for them
the job somehow sustained them
until one day
they weren't there anymore
and all the street corners were silent
with no more newsboys shouting
NEWSPAPER HERE!
a piece of Americana
disappeared overnight
TV came along and people stopped reading the paper
and America lost its newsboys
and eventually the newspaper business itself
a piece of Americana gone forever
now we only have dull lifeless screens
with no personality
no colorful real lives
they will not be remembered fondly
or worried about
like our Newsboys.
M.C. Newberry
Sun 6th Mar 2022 15:00
Yes indeed.
"READ ALL ABOUT IT!"