Simoneaux: Having let the good times roll, so must I

By Larry Simoneaux

This time it’s really the last time. Time to let go.

My wife and I are still in New Orleans, and the next few months promise to be a bit hectic.

There’s a new home to be found. A long drive back to Seattle coming up. A move most of the way across country to be planned for and made. A home in Edmonds in which we’ve lived for 33 years to be prepped for sale. A yard to be tidied up. Some painting to be done and cosmetic repairs to be made. Belongings to be packed. Furniture to be either moved, sold, or donated. New doctors to be found. Old friends to tell goodbye … and so on, and so forth.

And, with all of that, it’s really time to retire this column for good and let someone else put their ideas and thoughts in front of you. Thus, this will be my last piece. Promise.

I’m going to plagiarize the column I wrote a few years ago and repeat a few of the words I wrote the last time I stopped.

“Thank you. Each and every one of you. Being able to write for you has meant more to me than you can imagine.

“You, the readers, have been fantastic, and every ounce of pleasure I’ve derived from doing this has come from you. Further, I’ve also had the chance to meet, talk, and, in some cases, sit down over coffee with many of you. Without exception, that’s also been a rare and distinct pleasure.”

Nothing in those sentiments has changed and I could not have asked for, or found, a better audience anywhere. You were the ones that kept me at my keyboard simply because of the enjoyment I found in your responses.

I wish I had more and far better words to say, but, once again, I can’t seem to find them. And so, I’ll just offer two of the best words in the English language:

Thank you.

And with that, I’ll end it here.

Larry Simoneaux lives in Edmonds. Send comments to larrysim@comcast.net.

Editor’s note: Our thanks to Larry for his all-too-brief but greatly appreciated return to The Herald’s opinion pages. We have left an open invitation for him to write to his readers from New Orleans when the mood strikes. Laissez les bons temps rouler.