Captain’s Log – The Generational Divide

We generally have a lot of fun around the Fallon Media world, but some days are just more fun than others. And honestly, it’s these amazing people who make up our little work family that bring the most joy. 

On Thursdays, we have a whole crew of volunteers who rally together to get the papers delivered around town and to Lovelock. Some Thursdays, though, we have to pull in a staff member or two to fill in for volunteers when they have the audacity to be busy, actually enjoying their retirement or some such thing. 

Last week, Sadie and Riggin pulled short straw and took a route to cover for Harry, who normally covers what we call “the money route.” This one is all the locations where the store or coffee shop keeps a can on the counter, an envelope in the cash register, or has an actual newspaper vending box. 

Those boxes have been the bane of our existence since the beginning. 

So, the master’s degree-holding 27-year-old and the Cal Poly-bound 17-year-old teamed up to make the task a little lighter and more enjoyable. These two are pretty sharp, and they enjoy healthy competition in all things around the office. They’re constantly keeping score of who answered more calls, sold more subscriptions, or hawked more merchandise in the store. 

But Heaven forbid that either one of these overachievers can manage an old-fashioned newspaper box. 

Shortly after they left, papers in hand to fulfill their route, Denice received a text that they couldn’t get into the box at Fox Peak. Something about the key wouldn’t work. Then another desperate text, and then a phone call. They did not know how to get the papers inside the box. 

Denice was puzzled as she tried to assist over the phone, “Well, don’t you have any quarters?”

There are two things at work here – first, two really smart kids completely over-thinking the mechanics of a simple mechanical device, and the evolution of society where we no longer carry cash. Of any sort, let alone change. 

Never did it dawn on this brain-trust to just insert quarters and open the door, take out the old papers, and put in the new papers.

We were all hysterical and have been laughing about this and teasing the kids all week. 

So while we spend some time making little key/change kits for all the delivery drivers, we’ll always be right here…

…Keeping you Posted.

Rach