Cheerio.
The writer of “A Britisher’s View” is retiring to sunnier climes after churning out more than 1,450 columns in 28 years about this, that, and plenty of the other, but before I hang up my news cap I am dedicating my last installment to you, my faithful reader, for being such an important part of my story.
It has been my honor and privilege to author a weekly column with the perplexing title (“Britisher than what?” I remember asking the Bronx-born editor who created the name), and I attribute its stout shelf life to the trusty soul who tuned in week after week, month after month, year after year, and decade after decade, for I was nothing without you.
Yet being a columnist was furthest from my mind when I failed an interview for a headline writer’s position at this news company in November 1988, but persuaded the editor to let me write him a couple of articles. One landed me a job as a copywriter in the newsroom — and chief cook and bottle washer! — and the other originated this column, generating a highly rewarding career in journalism at one of the world’s largest local media outfits where the bigs treated the help like family.
To my surprise “A Britisher’s View,” delivered under a logo of the Union Jack because I could never settle on a selfie I liked, stirred up a quite a hornet’s nest.
My unapologetic applesauce — particularly the Islamo-columns I felt qualified and obliged to write as a born-and-bred Muslim, and Christian convert — drew howls of protest and catcalls for my kiss-off, one time emblazoned on fliers slapped on lampposts, another time filling three pages in our “Sound Off to the Editor” section, in addition to thousands of letters, cards, and e-mails, all of which I kept as trophies of my labors.
You were a tough crowd:
• “Hatemonger!”
• “Racist!”
• “Vermin!”
• “Nazi!”
You also showered me with exceptional praise:
• “Iconoclast!”
• “Greatest!”
• “Superb!”
• “Excellent!”
“A Britisher’s View” has enjoyed an extraordinary run, and I credit its startling success to my broad-minded bosses who valued free speech, and to my cherished readers, who — even if you didn’t agree with me! — checked in week after week, month after month, year after year, and decade after decade.
Thank you ever so much, take care, and ta-ta.
