Yesterday was much better. In the morning, I did a lot on the novel, and in the afternoon, I went to the library to read old Press Democrats from the 1930s for research. I was surprised to learn that our crappy local paper was fascinating in 1933. It was full of human-interest stories, good writers, racy serialized short stories, and people named Ione and Walter. I never read the PD now, but if it were like it was in the 1930s, I would read it every single day.

Here’s a thought: Maybe newspapers are dying because they are so damn boring. Maybe editors need to talk about crazed maniacs and use words like “cranks” and “savage” and “girlie” in their copy. Maybe criminals need better titles like “The Strolling Bandit” or the “Romeo Crime Ring.” Maybe, instead of talking about a bill in the dryest way possible, newspapers should boil them down to how they really affect the average person — “Is Prohibition Failing?” is a good headline. “Prohibition Bill Goes To Senate Committee for Vote” is not. Maybe, instead of re-printing wire stories, reporters should actually talk to local people and put their stories in the paper.

The PD made life in the 1930s seem more interesting than life today. People got in gun battles! A teenager tried to extort the mayor of Calistoga! German immigrant girls were conned out of money because gigolos promised to marry them! This was all reported in January 1933. If someone in the future reads the PD from 2007, they are going to think we were a bunch of boring business people who talked about development and drank wine and were afraid of large dogs. And editors are surprised that people don’t want to read newspapers.

Anyway, off to work. These flowers seem to inspire the bees in my garden. Maybe they will inspire you: