It’s goodbye time from Columbus writer whose has been sharing his take on the world

This is a farewell column. Yes, I know that sounds pretentious. And, yes, I know I’m not some world-famous entertainer, making a final tour to say goodbye to adoring fans. I’m just a guy who wrote a lot of columns that ran in this newspaper over the past two decades, and who feels a kinship with the readers who were willing to consider my opinions and tolerate my mistakes. That kinship demands that I say “goodbye” and “thank you” with this final column.

I have always been drawn to the printed word, eager to absorb it and to try to produce my own versions of it. Over the years, I engaged in different types of writing, but the op-ed column ended up suiting me best in the later years of my life. I am grateful that the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer chose to run my columns and that some people were willing to read them. Readers were sometimes kind enough to express approval in letters or notes or phone calls, gestures that were greatly appreciated. The occasional stranger who stopped me on the street or in a store to thank me for something I’d written was a special bonus. I know that some readers disagreed with some of the positions I took, but mostly they either said nothing or were gentle in their counter-arguments.

In addition to the pleasure that comes from knowing one or more readers found a column worth reading is the satisfaction that comes from crafting a sentence or, with luck, an entire paragraph that expresses a thought exactly the way you wanted to express it and with utmost clarity, accuracy and conciseness. It doesn’t always happen, even after hard work, and for me it was never routine. And the experience only seems complete when you know someone else will be reading it. I will miss the pleasure that comes when my words actually work the way I wanted them to, and when I know they might connect me to one or more readers with special precision.

But there’s a time for everything, a time to start and a time to stop. This seems the time to stop, for more reasons than one. First, my country has become hard to recognize, beset by daily chaos and noise. Civility has diminished almost to the vanishing point, and when it does appear, it is likely to be derided as weakness. Lying and bullying, in the highest places, is a daily occurrence, and a large part of the population seems to find this okay. There is no point in my writing columns on the subject, because nobody is listening. It will take a much louder voice than mine to have any impact.

Another reason for me to withdraw from the field is more personal. I’m like an old automobile, out of style and operating with obsolete components. Today the water pump malfunctions and tomorrow the transmission begins to slip. The next day the power steering pump may go and a timing belt break. Finding appropriate replacement parts is tedious and expensive. Any day now, the whole engine may blow up and the ancient crate stop permanently on the side of the road. Like old cars, we all wear out eventually, and I seem to be on a downhill slide. Some weeks I spend more time in hospitals and doctors’ offices than I do at home. I have faith in the professionals working on me; I’m still able to enjoy parts of my life, and I trust that enjoyment will grow. But the physical upkeep is distracting and leaves me feeling that writing a column every week is not as necessary as I once thought it was.

It’s been a long ride and a good one. The only thing left for me to write now is “thank you” and “goodbye.”

Robert B. Simpson is a retired Army officer and freelance writer who lives in Columbus. He can be reached by email at r.simpson@mindspring.com.