Thank You, I'm Sorry

I WANT TO thank all of you who have commented on my various essays and moments of self-disclosure, and I want you all to know I'm genuinely sorry I didn't start replying to any of you until last night, when I responded to comments dating back to May 24. A big part of the reason for my apparent non-responsiveness was that I was thinking about how I might reply to folks who took the time to write to me, but I was caught up in playing with various ideas from my newspaper years, none of which seemed suitable for a blog. Then I saw how Linda herself handled it, and -- duh -- there was the answer. To use a cliche that would be a lot more appropriate if these words were on paper, I wasn't seeing the forest for the trees. But the tanglewood is behind us, and I promise that from here on -- at least to the extent time allows (and your letters warrant) I will indeed try to respond to each and every one of you, answering in the "Comments" section just as I have begun doing. I say again: thank you.