The year-end review required of all columnists inevitably brings us to the mailbag and a few clarifications.
For the record, I read my mail but never online comments. Anonymity liberates hostility, we’ve learned, and the customary online abuse riot undermines the grandiosity required to write opinion. But don’t stop! For some reason, my family says the comments are a hoot.
The mail that does reach my inbox is about evenly split between fans and not-so-fans. I’ve concluded that there must be a repository of letter-to-columnist templates out there somewhere. About 70 percent of missives begin with one of the following:
• “I usually stop reading your column after the first sentence, but …”
• “I rarely agree with you, but …”
• “I am a fan — you knew this was coming — but …”
And this just in.
• “I’m not sure how columnists like you who write for a living get paid.”