Housecleaning yesterday unearthed this miniature 8-page publication called TimesFax, which was delivered to me by the New York Times aboard a cruise ship somewhere in the Caribbean on May 23, 1998. Measuring 7 by 8.5 inches, it was, as I recall, the only source of news available, and since it lacked a full-service sports section, meant I had to go without the box scores needed to follow my fantasy baseball team (unthinkable today).

Such were the limitations of leisure travel in that primitive era, at least the manner of leisure travel that I could afford.

While the form factor and delivery method were unusual by today’s standards, the headlines were certainly familiar, as the front page featured accounts of both a school shooting and a Clinton scandal, the latter involving the former president as opposed to the future one, of course. That skimpy sports section did include an Associated Press story about the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, meeting in the final of the French Open, marking the first time they had ever met in the final of a professional tournament.

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