La Cucina Italiana has been my very favorite food magazine for a few years. I have shown unrestrained excitement each time an issue has arrived. The recipes, the stories, the photos – I have savored every page.

 

And I’ve saved every issue I’ve received. I keep them in a nice, tidy stack – ready to peruse any time I need a dose of Italy. I’ve made full dinners from its pages and I’ve drooled over yet-to-be-tried recipes.

 

The current issue is to be the last released in America. I learned this when I read the editorial near the beginning of this issue. The magazine has been around since 1929 (!), so the end of its run is a heart-breaker. I know my heart is broken.

 

I suppose the on-line version will be readily available, and just as informative and entertaining as the printed version. But I’m not content with that. I’m old enough (and therefore “coot” enough) to feel disdain for a multitude of changes brought about by technology. Losing the printed page is one such change. I don’t like it. I may have to roll with it, but I do not have to like it.

 

And while I’m being my true coot self, I’ll tell you this: I don’t think it’s very good for us. There are roots and nobility in the printed page. There is magic in holding an aged book. There is possibility in flipping through a magazine’s pages, hoping something will catch the eye. And yes, I simply like the feel of a book (or a magazine or a newspaper) in my hand. More and more, I find myself missing these things terribly. (And yes, I express these feelings here – in an on-line forum. Being part of what I complain about is my cross to bear.)

 

It is with a heavy heart that I bid arrivederci to La Cucina Italiana. I will miss it terribly. I am a very lucky gal to have saved all those previous issues. Very lucky indeed.

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