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Time for the Great Pumpkin |
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Written by Ross Cavins
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Wednesday, 12 November 2008 |
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  This is the time of the year when small-town newspapers are highlighted by feel-good vegetable headlines. You know the ones I'm referring to, right?
Some old farmer, beaming with pride, gets his picture plastered on the front page. He's propped against the largest pumpkin anyone in these parts has seen for some time and he's wearing a priceless smile, like it's his kid and the boy won first place in the county spelling bee.
Usually, there's an accompanying story that explains how long the old man's been farming and what his secret is to growing his giganti-vegetables. It could be a special compost or a homemade fertilizer or maybe he talks to his plants all summer long.
The next week, the big headline could be a second grade teacher with okra the size of your fist. Or a construction worker with a five pound tomato from a volunteer plant that grew up in the middle of his wife's marigold bed.
It's a quaint story with local appeal but it isn't real news.
Big city newspapers carry real news on their front page. They have important pieces that cover the latest murder or gang shooting. Maybe there was a meth lab bust or another Fortune 500 company claiming bankruptcy due to mismanagement. This is real news, right?
 Real news is hard-hitting and bold.
Real news is about drugs and violence and sex and politics.
Real news covers scandals and celebrities and the stock market and the value of the dollar.
I don't know about you, but real news can stay in the big cities with the big-city papers.
When the most serious headline in my hometown paper is about Clem Johnson's hundred pound watermelon, or Edna Clapp's Elvis-shaped potato, I know my day is going to be a good one.
Those "big veggie" headlines encapsulate the best of small town life. Because if the Great Pumpkin really was the most exciting thing that happened that week, in my opinion, that's a very good thing. (This article originally appeared in the Tideland News , Swansboro, NC - October 22, 2008 edition) |
Ross Cavins
