A few weeks ago I was looking for some on-line information on the Manchester Cricket, my town's weekly newspaper. Where Sarah gets two of her home papers delivered, I thought it would be nice to do the same for my home paper.

Turned out I couldn't find what I was looking for (there's no web site for the paper, understandable given that the average paper has 10 pages), but I did find the Cricket listed in this article on unusual newspaper names. Hard to believe that the paper got a mention half a world away, but there you are.

(I should mention that, as a courtesy, I wrote the author to mention the town's previous newspaper, the Beetle and Wedge. He's now working with me and the Manchester Public Library to get mastheads from each, and has a follow-up article written for next month. You'll just have to wait. Be patient.)

Anyway, Sarah and I were in town over the weekend, and I took the opportunity to grab this week's Cricket. I got two shocks. First, the paper now costs 60 cents, which seems like a lot to pay for what is mostly real estate listings and school news.

The second shock was that my name was on the front page. There's a weekly column about things that had happened so many years ago in town, and 15 years ago... well, here's the copy:

"Mark Coen, Tom Mitchell, and Aaron Canale were presented with Boy Scout's highest rank, Eagle Scout at impressive ceremonies held in the Masonic Hall

"Impressive" seems a little hyperbolic, but it was a nice afternoon. My debate coach, Tim Averill, was my sponsor, and I would use the term impressive for the short speech he gave regarding me.

I'm a little dumbfounded that this happened 15 years ago. I think I need a moment.