After last week’s article, my friend said, “It’s easy to idealize three dot journalism, but it would never work in a small town. Nothing ever happens here that is of interest to anyone.”

That’s the point. I learned it on Madison Ave. many moons ago. More than anything else in the world (with the exception of one’s own bodily functions) people are interested in other people.

Sonny Werblin built the AFL on Joe Namath. “Days of our Lives,” has been around for 72 years. People are interested in other people, first—ideas and ideologies, second.

You could call it gossip, but that wouldn’t really be accurate—although “gossip” is definitely an aspect of it. It’s just that people are interested in what affects their personal lives—what they can relate to on a visceral level. All real news is local. (I once read about a small town paper that had 110% circulation. It covered birthdays).

Folks with disparate interests and backgrounds naturally search for commonality of interests.

What’s the most talked about subject in the world? The weather. It provides us with a common ground, be we the butcher, the baker or the candlestick maker.

In rural communities, hunting and fishing tie people together—to say nothing of the harvest. If your eye catches another’s while waiting for coffee at the Yup Cup or Jackie’s Exxon (I know she’s gone. But it will always be Jackie’s to me)— what do you say? You know the answer: “Any chance of rain this week?” Or any word on the size of the crop?

An obvious question is about the Giants or Niners.

The day’s headline is fair game—as long as it not blatantly political. It is kosher to say, “Think Madoff will do time?” It is wrong to opine, “Obama is acting like Mussolini, robbing us of our freedoms.” When around strangers, your grandmother’s advice regarding dinner table conversation was just as sagacious as her advice regarding digg ing a five dollar hole for a one dollar plant: “Never talk politics or religion at the table.”

It’s why a question about the Giants never hurts anyone. And if the fellow in front of you knows diddly-squat about Lincecum, you can always call 911 and report him to homeland security. He’s definitely a foreign threat.

On the assumption that nobody gets hurt--government officials excluded—(someone has to watch them), three dot journalism in a small town like St. Helena might look like this:

The tree committee is in an uproar about the 10 homes planned behind the C.I.A. north of town. Where were they when the city’s own chainsaws massacred a dozen trees around the Carnegie Building?...On the subject of the city, why is one Councilman demanding a resolution on tolerance, while privately opposing a new school on Pope St. because of its religious slant?”…About the only safe thing you can say about religion these days is that the old Catholic Church is now officially safe—as in earthquake proof—at least according to bureaucrats...Some think it was always thus, but now Father Brinkle has a $2,000,000 certificate to prove it…Good thing that two mill didn’t go to something stupid like food for the poor…Ya’ gotta love gov’t regs…And on Gov't,Congressman Mike Thompson has a new Chief of Staff—-from Pennsylvania…We love Mike, but considering the employment situation, was there not one local who was qualified?
How does one diplomatically say the Upper Valley is home or playground to at least 5 former ambassadors?...In the 60’s,before we were tres chic, Jim Pop would always say that the most consistently good wine (for the price) was his pal’s Louis Martini’s (they were class of ’42 at Cal). Apparently, he wasn’t so dumb. Rumor is due to Gallo’s distribution, sales have sky rocketed..BTW,with Cab approaching 5 grand per ton, will Chardonnay go the way of prune and walnut orchards?...On the subject of wine and water, now that the reservoirs are overflowing, did I miss the headline “Rationing over?”... City of Napa now has a victory garden. St. Helena owns 10 fallow acres down off Zinfandel where our treated water is sprayed on “hay fields.” During this down turn, why not create our own victory garden? Let a church or service group take an acre each and go for it…Could feed lots of hungry folks…
Speaking of hungry, I’m insatiable. If you’ve got an item—send it in….See. A guy could make a living doing this!