Count Stephanie and I among the many who were saddened by the Pope’s death last weekend. It was clear that he was a truly caring man, particularly for the poor, hungry and especially for children. It was a sad day, indeed. I won’t get into some of his 19th century viewpoints such as opposing a woman’s right to choose or not allowing them into the church, but hey, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. He was a good man. Anyway, my only point here is that the picture accompanying today’s post was taken from the front page of today’s Boston Globe.
Now, having limited experience in the whole business of writing headlines (read: the occasional dabble at the college newspaper), I know that there are some people out there who write some tongue-in-cheek headlines, completely on purpose. To be more specific, I recall that some of the kids at the college newspaper at Kent had gotten a hold of a certain newspaper headline which was supposed to read: “Clinton’s Pen Is A Sword.” Unfortunately, the editors must have been too busy (or stoned?) to realize they forgot to put the space in between the words “Pen” and “Is.” The result, which ran as a headline in all the newspapers: “Clinton’s Penis A Sword.”
Hilarious, yes. However, I can’t help but feel like maybe there were some juvenile shenanigans involved somehow in today’s headline. The city of Boston, which has been at the epicenter of the whole clergy sexual abuse scandal, probably didn’t need to see this headline, and a picture below it of a dour-looking gentleman. It could have been written another way. I’m not sure if it was done on purpose, but those newspaper people sure do have an odd sense of humor sometimes. I’d hate to think they did it on purpose, so I’m sorry for the pessimism.
The story is actually about New England natives who met the Pope, how it affected their life and how they felt after meeting him. It’s actually quite a nice story.