When I was younger, my father would read the newspaper everyday. It was almost a ritual. Every day the newspaper would be delivered to our house and my father would take the time to read it. Later, when the nightly news came on tv he would watch it as well. As a child, I never understood. To me, the news was boring and not something for children.

As I grew older and learned how to read I discovered newspapers had something for me – the comics section. My mother understood my interest and kept the comics for me. Even after I went away to school she would keep copies in the closet of my bedroom. Perhaps, a small gesture. To me it was an act of love. A connection to my mother’s love.

Later, as I grew older an interest in the news developed and by the time I left college and lived on my own I discovered myself reading the paper everyday. In the beginning I couldn’t afford my own newspaper and so I walked down to the library and read it there. Success occurred when I could afford my own delivery. It’s interesting how we measure success. To me, it happened when I could get my own newspaper.

As time went by, the newspaper became supplemented with magazines like Time, Newsweek and Maclean’s. I read US today and the Globe and Mail. I suppose even though I was on my own, the newspaper was a connection to earlier days – to my father who read it everyday and showed me what it was to be a man; to a mother who even though I only visited home very occasionally, still kept the comics section in a closet.

Today, newspapers have become something of yesterday. With 24 hour news channels, Twitter and the internet, newspapers have become more of something that tells us about the past. I no longer subscribe and no longer walk down to the library. In today’s connected world, a newspaper seems as outdated as a book or a horse drawn carriage – more quaint than essential. Consequently, success is measured differently.

But, I still read newspapers. Not everyday and certainly not when I want to know what’s happening now, but rather when I find myself travelling. Between work and vacations I fly about 60,000 miles a year. On planes, you can watch recent movies, television and even the news…that is if you want the news recorded before the plane took off. If you really want, you can subscribe to the onboard plane’s internet portal and get the very latest, but for some reason I prefer a newspaper.

Perhaps, there’s some irony that in today’s modern travel traditions from yesterday, like reading a newspaper, become appealing. So, while the plane races to my destination at 30,000 feet travelling at 800km per hour I find myself reading a paper the airline gives me. It’s also at those lofty heights that I read my electronic magazines – when I catch up on Maclean’s, Time and the National Geographic; all courtesy of my iPad and electronic subscriptions.

So, while those newspapers give me the news, it really connects me to my roots – to my father – to my mother. My mother has since moved on and no longer collects newspapers for me. But when I see a newspaper in the Maple Leaf lounge, on the counter by the checkin, I think of her and I can’t walk by. I stop, pick up the paper and feel the connection.