The Newton Tab was delivered to my front door yesterday.
I know that about 75% of Village readers will think that’s not worth mentioning since it happens to them every Wednesday. What those readers may not realize is that the Newton Tab is only delivered to a fraction (3/4?) of Newton residents.
Which residents get delivery and which don’t and why has always been somewhat shrouded in mystery. It appears that they take the “low hanging fruit” approach to delivery – i.e. they deliver to the bigger, longer denser streets and skip the smaller ones.
I live on a very small street so we’ve never been on the standard Tab delivery routes, though all of our surrounding bigger street neighbors are.
All that is very straight forward and understandable. What’s not though is what happened yesterday – a Tab delivered to our doorstep.
Roughly once a year, on no fixed schedule, we get a single Tab delivered to us one week for no known reason. Since it happens so rarely, we treat it with way more significance than it deserves. We won the Tab delivery lottery!!! This must be an omen of good fortune.
Now I know that many of you who get your Tab delivered every week may be jaded. You may take it for granted. You may complain about the Tab throwing unasked for, plastic wrapped trash on your property. You may complain about the paucity of real news coverage in the Tab. You wouldn’t be wrong. The Tab’s news content these days is indeed a fraction of what it once was.
For us though, on that special rare day, none of that matters. When we look out our window and see that plastic wrapped package, there are hoots and hollers, bells ringing, music from the heavens … and we know we’re going to have a very good day.
My wife and I are almost two weeks into a VERY nasty bout of Covid. I had three very bad days and then a week’s worth of annoying but not worrying symptoms. It hit my wife far worse and she spent 10 days in bed for 20+ hours a day.
Yesterday, when the Tab was delivered, was the first day she began to feel like a normal person again. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Thank you Newton Tab!
So sorry to hear that, Jerry. I hope you both have all your health and strength back pronto!
We get the Tab once a year, when it shows up before Christmas with an envelope for tips.
That is too funny!
Stay healthy and keep your exquisite sense of humor!
Talk about haves and have-nots: We live in a two-family, so we get one per household; but our neighbor couldn’t care less about The TAB, so I just take his copy in with ours (as opposed to leaving it to clutter up the sidewalk). On top of that, the houses adjacent to us don’t appear to have much interest in the The TAB, either, and sometimes I notice that their copies have gradually gravitated onto our driveway or our part of the sidewalk — maybe it’s the wind? or kids accidentally on purpose kicking it while hurrying to school? Sometimes I may wind up recycling as many as four TABs by the next Trash Day.
I, too, lament the paper’s downward spiral, especially manifested by all the non-Newton stories and features that serve as filler. But it’s all I got for a local paper, and sometimes I do find at least some things of reasonable interest to read. So, one copy, two, three…I’ll take ’em as they come.
Oh, and speaking of local coverage, or lack of same — Dan Kennedy posted on his “Media Nation” blog yesterday an item about the plans Gannett (which owns the Wicked Local/TABs) has to focus even more on “regional” news:
https://dankennedy.net/2022/02/16/gannetts-mass-weeklies-to-replace-much-of-their-local-news-with-regional-coverage/
Any truth to the rumor that they are going to change their name to Wicked Generic?
Jerry, speaking of wicked — sounds like a wicked-bad stretch for you and yours. May you both have a full recovery, in time to enjoy the arrival of spring (whenever that happens).
JR: Got me … Laughing out loud, still! THANKS!
“Yesterday, when the Tab was delivered, was the first day she began to feel like a normal person again. Coincidence? I don’t think so.”
We’ve got the TAB, so we don’t need no stinking Ivermectin!!
Kennedy’s piece tells me more downsizing is on the way. That’s the way (Gatehouse) Gannett rolls. It’s sad.
Jerry, glad to hear you and the Mrs. are feeling better. Stay healthy and take lots of vitamin D.
I find little to read in the Tab anymore, but I’ll say this: the crossword puzzle is pretty difficult.
@Jerry– Wishing you and your wife a strong recovery.
Wow do I miss The TAB! Not the advertising flyer that it’s become. I miss the real TAB, with real journalists who made us aware and kept our elected “leaders” in-check. I especially miss the TAB that endorsed me for Mayor in 2005… but I digress.
These days The TAB gets delivered on my street. Not to the homes on my street. But literally ON the street. Either the delivery person is super lazy, or they’re saving their arm for baseball season. I just wish they would stop leaving so many papers on the street.
I live on a very long, very main street. Delivery stopped to my neighborhood months ago; our delivery guy sent us a nice note saying that our route had been cancelled. I don’t believe that even half of Newton gets delivery any longer. Feel better, Jerry. So sorry that you and your wife were so ill.
I agree with that. Used to get it every week on my street but that stopped a year ago. Why????
I live on a street with only a couple of houses but we were always getting the Tab. Until recently ..this post made me realize I stopped receiving it at some point. Probably within the past 8 months. Hmmm.
Hope you and your wife are feeling better. Hang in there.
They’re still publishing the Tab???? I can’t remember the last time I have seen it, but it’s been at least a year, and may be precovid.
We live on a corner in Auburndale, and for a while I thought their delivery people couldn’t figure out to deliver to the front door facing one street or the back door facing the other. The Halloween kids are smart enough to notice both doors and often try both of them. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any around Auburndale; maybe their delivery people don’t know Auburndale is part of Newton?
In any case, it’s sad. It used to carry some interesting news.
Meanwhile, I got them to stop delivering to my house years ago because print newspapers cause me allergy problems (don’t know if it’s the ink or the newsprint). When they announced they were no longer going to deliver to all of Newton, I suddenly started getting them again! I emailed to try to get them to stop and was informed they only update their distribution list once a year so I’d just have to wait. It’s such a shame – it used to be a useful paper and Newton’s definitely worse off without what it used to be.
@Jerry – sorry you and your wife have had such a hard time of it. Sending speedier healing wishes up to the Falls.
As a former letter carrier I can tell you delivering one to every house was the worst day of the week
I was surprised to see the Tab delivered to houses on my street 2 days ago. Interestingly about 1 of 4 of the papers were on the street near the crub of a house rather than on the walk or lawn. I suspect with the snow melt many of these papers were destroyed. Seem like a waste since the Tab decided to deliver this issue.
@Jerry: If this report is true, next year when you get your yearly Tab it may have even less local news in it.
My take is here.
You identify a business-induced problem business can solve. What is the Chamber doing to fix what it sees is broken?
Thanks to you all for the well wishes. It was a VERY long two weeks but your kind wishes, the unexpected Tab delivery, and a shoot of monoclonal antibodies seemed to do the trick.
We both tested negative for the first time yesterday and are now back in business.
Good news, Jerry!
I am afraid I don’t buy the “only delivered to big streets” hypothesis. I too live on a tiny street – a dead-end street at that, and at the end of it – and I have received and continue to receive the Tab weekly for the past 20 years. The mystery is still mysterious.
Mysterious indeed. Maybe it involves a dart board then ;-)
I wish I could get them to stop delivering to me. In 20 years in Newton, I’ve possibly opened 20 issues, with the other 980 going straight to recycling (out of wrapper, wrapper in trash – egads – paper in green bin). They used to be thrown onto the driveway, closer to the trash bins. Now they are thrown onto the other side of the house, into the grass.
I’ve tried to stop getting the Globe mailers in my mail box weekly. But after several calls and no response I have given up. I use those to line the bird cage with the remainder into recycling.
It is almost Spring, and with that I’ll expect several plastic baggies with a few rocks and an advertisement from a landscaper.
Wasn’t aware it was still in print. I occasionally read it on line.