The Tribune's Sunday running scene

Thanksgiving has passed, and a brief period of normalcy returns until the low-pitched rumble of cash registers rises to the level of an airliner ascending, and we know that Christmas has arrived.

Looking back on the topics of recent weeks, I see that the Tribune's managing editor, Chris Morris, has not responded to my notes about the newspaper's stable of syndicated columnists. He did not respond to my comments about his city editor. There has been no word from him about my most recent letter to the editor on the topic of architecture, redevelopment and the culpability of past community pillars.

However, Chris did contribute a (what else?) sports commentary yesterday. It was inserted somewhat inelegantly into the editorial slot and dealt with the annual Thanksgiving Day mini-marathon. Chris recounted his participation in the footrace, and paid tribute to the late Denny Inzer, a former Tribune co-worker who died earlier this year.

In fact, Chris's commentary was a good read, but its placement reinforced the sad truth that the Tribune's managing editor is unable or unwilling to editorialize about anything other than sports. The column should have been placed in the sports section, where it really belonged, and not in the editorial slot, which should be reserved for other things.

What other things? Isn't sports the only thing?

It isn't. I'm sorry. Frank Zappa once said*:

"Every major industrialized nation has A BEER (you can't be a Real Country unless you have A BEER and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need A BEER."

I think that every real city has a newspaper ... and New Albany's newspaper needs retooling (or a major injection of beer) to be real.

*This is the exact quote from "The Real Frank Zappa Book."