I was in my dentist’s office last week and I had a startling revelation. The wooden coffee table in the waiting room had NO magazines on it whatsoever. But, I thought about it and realized it has been that way for a while now. I think the combination of smartphones and Covid killed off this practice. Gone are the days when I used to get to my dentist appointment early, so I could get caught up on the celebrity news. Salivating over the newest People, Star or Us magazines could keep me quite amused and I would be almost sad when the door opened and they would call me in. My dentist had quite the assortment. In addition to the celebrity rags, he also had Car and Driver, Golf, National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, Popular Mechanics and Reader’s Digest, to name just a few. On more than one occasion, I remember staring at the person who had the current People, fervently willing them to finish it so I could take a peek.
Now there is no sound of ruffling or turning of glossy pages. Just silence or maybe sotto voce beeps and whistles coming from our palm.
I guess it was bound to happen, when we have the world in our palm, who needs an array of magazines to keep the captive audience entertained?
I’m Rosie Klepper and that’s my perspective.
