In the End

It was too early in the course to be the end, so there was really nothing fitting or appropriate about finding two of those yellow tags from some nearby construction site bearing the numbers 3 and 0. Well, except for the fact that I’m a newspaperman and the number 30, usually written as –30– or Thirty, is the old mark to signify the end of a story. The mark would appear after the final paragraph of copy submitted by a reporter or correspondent in the days of typewriters.

The curious among us, those who never outgrew asking “Why?” to just about everything, aren’t satisfied with knowing the use of the mark or its basic history. We want to know why –30–. In a 2007 article, the American Journalism Review attempts to answer the question. The title of the piece: “So why not 29?”

Is it a holdover from earlier handwriting, predating even the typewritten word? Is it a misinterpretation of a Bengali symbol? Well, it seems the matter is still open to debate. Thus it strikes me as a small torment that, according to the AJR story, a high school journalism teacher offers her students extra credit if anyone can solve the mystery of Thirty. In Louise Reynolds’s defense, perhaps she gives credit for any plausible or creative explanation. That would be cool.

This VCR front panel will make cool wall art (I imagine).

 I’ll see if I can conjure a clever myth to explain the journalist’s end note. In the meantime, you can read other ideas here.

Today's Stats

Temp: 46 degrees F

Distance: 4.25 miles

Treasure: 2 plastic number tags: 3, 0; 2 cigarette packs; 1 VCR front plate (RCA); 27 cans.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)

She Came in Through the Bathroom Window - The Beatles (Anthology version)

Mr. Pitiful - The Commitments

What's On Your Mind(Pure Energy) - Information Society

Best of Times - Styx

For a Dancer (live) - Jackson Browne (Such a beautiful, sad song. Here's a newer version.)

Pay Me My Money Down - Bruce Springsteen

Helpless - Joni Mitchell (Neil Young lead vocals)

Woodstock (unplugged) - Joni Mitchell

Absolute - The Fray

Caught Up In You - .38 Special

One of My Turns - Roger Waters (The Wall Live in Berlin)

I Never Told You - Colby Caillat