I drove all over town looking for one. I hadn't realized how many newspaper machines there are. They are everywhere! But they are all empty. News stands, drug stores, super markets, the liquor store, gas stations... nothing. I thought about stealing one off a neighbor's front porch. Drove to the Press Democrat printing facility in Rohnert Park. Nothing. Sold out. Not a single paper. My wife was looking in a recycling bin at the loading dock when a guy came out. He was sympathetic, looked around then said, "They screwed up and didn't print enough. Meet at Walmart in an hour. I'll have one for you."
We drove to Walmart, about a mile away, and hung out watching the odd big box social phenomenon. The guy rode up on a bike one hour and fifteen minutes later. He had bags of papers on his shoulders. They had finished a second run and he was filling the vending machines. He smiled and gave me one.
"NEW DAWN" was the headline, above a full page photo of President-Elect Barack Obama.
Now on NPR I hear that the whole country is sold out. Go figure.
Got mine.