It has been almost a year since I took up my pen, dipped it in the ink, and dared to find out if I could write a weekly column – at least a reasonably interesting one – after a hiatus of close to two decades.

As I said at the outset last December, the answer to my self-questioning is best left to readers.

This particular column; however, is not intended to be a self-evaluation of my writing skills. Truth be told, I can’t imagine very many readers having much interest in such a self-centered topic.

What this week’s piece is really about is the importance that attaches to just two words: Thank you.

When I say “thank you” to Ray McKeithan for providing an older, pretty much forgotten columnist an opportunity to write once again, I mean it with utter sincerity.

When I say “thank you” to those kind and thoughtful people who say positive things to me about “Write Again” the words seem inadequate.

You and I, kind reader – all of us – could make a list of people and things for which “thank you” would be truly appropriate. Such a list would go on for pages, wouldn’t it?

The use of certain words, phrases, adds a decency, a civility, to our days, whether employed on a large or small scale.

Among those – but certainly not limited to – are “please,” “you’re welcome,” “excuse me.” There are others, of course.

However, the intent of this column was to say, simply and sincerely:

Thank You.

APROPOS — “Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.”
— Jacques Maritain