So goes the calzones...

Believe it or not I do try to look on the bright side of things in most every situation. Last night’s news cast required too much effort. I never watch the local news (in any town) in that I have always believed the "news" to be regionalistic (not sure if that's a word). "We're the best town ever and here's why…" Not only that, it is usually slanted to help people justify their over priced homes by harping on and even exaggerating stories from "that" part of town. The type and quality of the news usually provides little interest for me.

I have also even seen broadcasts where there was actually less than a minute of "news." It seems that unless there is immediate info to make the "nicer" parts of town appear nice and the "bad" parts of town seem worse, it is interpreted as a, “slow news day.” Where am I going with all this? Well, I accidentally saw the first three minutes of the local news last night. I had just brushed my teeth and cleaned my eye glasses and returned to my bedroom when the broadcast started. As I've already wrote, I don't watch local news so the anchor seemed unfamiliar. No matter, his exuberance and plastic looking hair were indeed familiar. In a much trained professional excited voice he led off with a story too bull-shity to believe.

Apparently, this town has successfully survived the economic downturn. Apparently, released state figures show the unemployment rate at 7.3% or some such manufactured number. That rate is lower than the state's and the nation’s. The point that the rate is still too high was only addressed as an aside. The field reporter took the story after the lead in and ran with it. He interviewed a woman who had just opened a Calzone shop in an area this town terms "trendy." She had a “help wanted” sign in her shop window which has gone mostly unnoticed, she told the reporter. She needed people to help make the Calzones and deliver them to her hungry patrons. The story ended with her telling the reporter that she hoped to find people for her minimum wage slow deaths (not her words) soon so her husband could spend a bit more time at home. I know what you're thinking. There are indeed all sorts of literature about starting your own business because you want to work less but, one argument at a time. My problem was that a calzone shop with a couple of minimum wage openings is hardly evidence of an economic recovery.

The calzone as an economic indicator? I guess maybe an interview with say an economist or a corporate CEO might have fared better. Are manufacturing jobs up? Are people spending more on stuff they don't need? Aren't these some of the many questions that are usually queried to judge economy health? Not in this town. Apparently, so goes the calzones, so goes the town.

Further, the idea that someone in search of a minimum wage job would even be on the street where the calzone shop is located is silly in and of itself. The city has funded and designed that neighborhood to discourage "po" folks from being about. I am sure you know what I mean; every city has such an area.

I think I will stop writing here. I am getting depressed by a number of things. The thought that the story passed for news, the thought that many watching it will actually believe that it is a sign of things getting better and most importantly that it discourages those in power from doing their jobs better because we now have jobs and people are just not applying. Oi!