Forgotten again


No flowers, no cards, no phone calls. Not even so much as a fruit basket.

You're disappointing me again, people.

Today is National Columnists Day (seriously, look it up) and once again I'm left to wonder: Where is the love? I mean, my wife even failed to remember this special occasion. Then again, it's not as if Hallmark sells cards for National Columnists Day. If they did, I suppose they could offer them in the form of a letter to the editor.

There's still another 14 1/2-odd hours left in the day, offering all of you ample chance for redemption. Tributes and gifts are welcome, just as they have been for the last five years.

In case you're wondering, National Columnists Day was started in 1995 -- on the 50th anniversary of Ernie Pyle's death -- as the result of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. According to the organization, "The anniversary of the April 18, 1945 death of the great Ernie Pyle is a time to reflect on the way newspaper columnists connect, educate, comfort, encourage, celebrate, outrage and occasionally even amuse readers and a time to express appreciation for them for their hard work."

I hope I have done some or all of those things for you in the last year, and I hope to continue it.

Mark your calendar so you don't forget the date next year. In the meantime, the best gift you can give this particular newspaper columnist is a moment of your time each morning.