Bob Greene, a Chicago Tribune columnist (who, unlike me, apparently was not cured by an English teacher of an overuse of dashes), has mused in his past few articles about reading the newspaper online vs. on newsprint. First he discovers that, thanks to the Internet, he has readers all around the world. Then he considers the attachment some people have to newspapers in the bathroom and the comfort of the Sunday paper. Third, he directly confronts the reality that readers are canceling their subscriptions and reading online instead. Lastly, he winds up with the good news that people are personally attached to their newspapers, on paper or online. Readers wrote him about “my paper”, not “your paper”, and he sees that as a sign that newspaper people are doing their job right. I know many people who only read the paper online. I read a large amount of news online, but I still practice an almost ritualistic reading of the physical paper; so much so that I get antsy when some else reads my virginal paper before I get to it. Sunday is especially ritualistic, involving a sorting technique (ads in this pile, news in this pile, classifieds in the recycling bin, comics last) and relaxation that I look forward to. I can envision reading my news online only, and in fact I read the New York Times online because I can’t stand the idea of wasting even more paper. But I am so attached to the browsing, turning, rustling, and clipping. Will it all go away someday? Maybe.