I recently saw a news piece on the gradual loss of another piece of Americana eroding away. I found myself nodding my head often and when it was over, I felt just a bit sad. It was then I realized how much his subject matter had meant to my growing up and dare I say it, maturing.

I’m talking about (though it bothers me to even type this) the “old-fashioned” newspaper route. Back in my day, it was done by younger teenagers, and though Long Island carriers had just as hard a job, my route was in Astoria, New York City.

I lived in a three-story apartment building and thankfully, our apartment was on the first floor. I say that because after getting up and dressed at an ungodly, hour I’d have to grab my full-sized supermarket shopping cart to load my 100-plus papers for the day. Much worse on Sundays.

Again, thankfully, the storefront where the New York Daily News was dropped off by the thousands was just around the corner on the avenue. So, in short time, I was all loaded up for my two avenues and two very long city streets.

Talk about exercise. Up and down three flights of stairs dropping the paper at each apartment door. Once I got proficient at it, I’d fold the paper and chuck it up the common stairwell, but only if Mr. Jones or Mrs. Smith didn’t mind the paper at the end of their hall.

Of course, I’d hear it from Jones and Smith on “collect” day, where in my little green book, I’d note that they were paid up for the week. Of course, some would never answer the door, even though I could hear them shuffling around inside. That meant another day wasted, coming back another time for hopefully a better result.

This taught me bookkeeping (green book) and accounting (collecting) along with the human interaction of my customers. It taught me to be on time. The Daily News was a morning tabloid, and I heard it if my customer went to work on the subway without their paper under their arm.

It taught me customer service because you lived for the tips. You knew who tipped well, tipped begrudgingly, or not at all. Then, you’d settle up with your district manager.

Then for me came the sweet part of the day. I’d push my empty cart and park it in front of Anna’s Deli on my corner. Inside, I’d order my bacon and egg on a roll and sit outside on her steps watching the city still waking up with deliveries being made, people walking this way and that, and just the sun warming up the new day.

Then my lifelong love affair with reading newspapers began, as I’d sit and read the entire paper from the back to the front, because I was a kid and the biggest most important news started on the back sports page.

Now when the newspaper is delivered, if at all, it’s done by vehicles, able to fit many more routes in the trunk of a car and there and gone before dawn’s light.

Is it more efficient and faster? Yeah, I’ll give you that, but what a great piece of growing up for this kid that’s fading away.

Brian Curry is a longtime Long Island Advance columnist and is a three-time winner of the New York State Press Association’s “Column of the Year”. You can contact him at currypointofview@yahoo.com