Sustaining this column on my shortcomings would be hard

New year, and now that I’m entering my fifth year of writing this column, perhaps it’s time to acknowledge the people in my life who offer themselves up for ridicule each week — and make this column possible.

Sustaining this column on my own shortcomings alone would be hard; it’s not that I don’t have enough, it’s just that I’m lucky to have friends and family members whose shortcomings are far more worthy of print anecdotes than my own: In such a case, it makes sense to spread the load.

If, in acknowledging my loved ones’ contributions, I also manage to tie up a few narrative loose-ends, then all to the good.