How much information is too much information? Where’s that line?

Not all of our feedback has been positive. For Two-Lane Livin’, I hear one of two complaints: A. "We ran out of copies too fast," or, B. "There’s too much information." These are both complaints I like to hear.

Because of the dominance of the Internet in our lives, we have also become "browsers" and not "readers" -- scanning the pages for the information we need instead of actually reading the complete article.

Reading should be a leisure activity. Browsing and scanning both sound like work, like research for a purpose. Reading is a restful activity. Scanning and browsing imply a rush, a reason to hurry.

You know, the Two-Lane Lifestyle isn’t about rushing, scanning or quick browsing. It’s about strollin’, porch-sittin’, visitin’, growin’. One of my main goals in life is to feel less rushed.

Somewhere in life, along the way, I got in a hurry and now, I have to practice relaxing. Who ever heard of such a thing? Practice relaxing? You would think it would come naturally. But, no. I have to remind myself to drop my jaw and I have to mentally count so I breathe deep and slow. And to maintain this for any period of time? Well, let’s just say I’m still practicing.

Two-Lane Livin’, I hope, is a sit-down, relaxing read. I hope in each issue, you find at least one or two articles that give you periods of quiet repose. There’s no need to rush from cover to cover, you’ve got all month to work your way through.

December is a month of rushing. It seems this month’s ‘To Do List’ is a mile long. This season is so socially inclined, sometimes days pass before we get a quiet moment to ourselves.

And yet, it is the time of year for crackling wood in the fireplace, of full bellies beneath hand-stitched quilts. It’s a time for reflection and memories of holidays prior. It is a season of stories, secrets and hidden surprises.

Within Two-Lane Livin’ you will also find stories, secrets and surprises.

This month, several of our columnists have covered Christmas topics. Learn to avoid the holiday blues, keep Christmas affordable, and how to teach your children the spirit of the season, by example. Find holiday recipes from Lisa Laughlin, and in Only Organic by Sue Cosgrove.

Just to make sure we don’t overdo the Christmas theme, we have also included tips for attracting birds to your backyard, methods for repairing the roof of your RV, the dangers of puffed rice, the importance of a positive attitude, and lessons on reading the weather.

We have included secrets and surprises as well. Each month we list ingredients for a product, and readers must guess the product name. (See Chew On This.) We offer simple tips to help you live life easier -- tidbits that shouldn’t be kept secret.

Our monthly hidden surprise, our find-the-hidden-graphic, has changed for the month into one that symbolizes the holiday, and we’ve come up with a special Christmas prize, which includes a bumper sticker, t-shirt, and free one-year subscription.

Those with an eye for details may notice the addition of WV Lowku, by Two-Lane poet, Bob Henry Baber. We don’t mean to hide Bob’s poetry, but Lowku by nature, is small. The opposite of haiku, Lowku allows any syllable count that is not 17.

We hope that reading Two-Lane Livin’ isn’t just another item on your holiday To Do List. In fact, we hope our readers look at this issue, and every issue, as a gift -- a good reason to sit down, relax, and take a moment for yourselves. There’s enough information to make your moment last as long as you like, but it can also be read in parts when those moments aren’t as long as you would like them to be.

With Two-Lane Livin’, time once spent rushing can become time spent learning ways to live happier, healthier lives. Again, can we have too much of that?

***

I was recently questioned by a long-time newspaper man who has traveled far and wide. He’d been studying his copy of Two-Lane Livin’ for four days, and just had to call to pick my brain.

"Who is your audience?" He asked.

I immediately slipped into my sales speil. "We’re distributed into 14 counties, at more than 400 locations, at no charge to readers..."

"Yes, yes," he said. "I know that. But who are your readers?"

"Well," I said, "we deliver to senior citizens’ centers, libraries, laundromats, restaurants, stores, high school classrooms..."

"Yes, yes," he said. "I know that too. I am trying to find out who your target audience is."

You see, "target audience" is a marketing term. A target audience is a specific group of people, defined by social class, age, education level, and income level. It says, "this is who this paper is for, and these are the kinds of readers we want."

I’ve never been one to classify people along those lines, and as a result, neither does our publication. I was befuddled -- because I did not have the right answer for his question.

"Two-Lane Livin’ is for everyone," I said. "I take great pride in thinking it is Everyman’s paper, with something for every age, class, region and group."

"Then you don’t have a defined audience," he said.

I couldn’t help myself. I got a little defensive. "Well, of 34,000 copies out so far, almost none are left. So, somebody’s reading it."

"Yes," he said. "I think you’ve got something."

Thus, not only are we giving out too much, we’re also giving it to too many people.

Hmm... Some people say the same thing to Santa.