In the fall of 2004, I began my first semester at SUNY Brockport (now The College at Brockport). One of my favorite courses that semester was an Honors Course, Problems with Freedom of Speech, taught by Dr. Donna Kowal.

I sat in front of the then Stylus editor, Casey Campbell, and one afternoon between classes, I wrote a scathing letter to the editor about my inability to find a parking spot close to my morning class. Casey read it and chuckled, but refused to print it because he assured me the parking situation would get better within a few weeks. Besides, he did not want to anger anyone in parking services.

Casey did encourage me to write down some other "rants" as he coined them, as The Stylus was always looking for things to publish. This evolved into a full column by the spring of 2005, entitled "A Few Cards Short," a shortened version of the expression, "a few cards short of a full deck," describing a person who is a bit nuts. Of course, the irony is that this is the 104th column I've written, the equivalent of two full decks.

The column has had its highs and lows. By far the most positive feedback I received was for a tribute I wrote to Dr. John Killigrew, a popular history professor and my first instructor at Brockport. I received e-mails from all over the United States and even a personal thank you from Dr. Killigrew.

The column was posted on the bulletin board outside the history department's office for almost a year. Ironically, it was the only column I wrote for The Stylus the editor initially rejected for publication. I stood my ground, and it was subsequently published with no revisions.

A few of the low points came when I was hounded by a right-wing nut who sent me lengthy e-mails filled with thinly-veiled threats that he was going to hunt me down and kill me because of a column I wrote about posting the Ten Commandments outside a courthouse. Another person sent me thousands of pictures of deformed topless women in response to a column about nudists in Moravia, N.Y.

Of course, anyone who writes a column like this enjoys stirring up a little controversy every now and then, but the unintended consequences are that some nut inevitably takes me too seriously.

Writing this column has been a labor of love at times, but last semester it became a chore. The column was moved to a different section of the newspaper, and I should have lobbied to have it left alone. The few people who have hung around this campus as long as I have, at least the ones who are not employed here, asked me what happened to it.

Having it buried in the news section made me feel obliged to comment on the news rather than stick with the tried-and-true formula of ranting about whatever popped into my head. I am not on campus enough to have any relationship with the staff of the paper as I had in the past.

That, combined with a few other factors, made my decision to end this column easier. I could have kept writing this during my final semester in hopes of getting some award for being the longest-running columnist, but I don't think I've ever gotten a thank you or Christmas card or invited to a banquet, so I figure I will get while the going is good.

Of course, no final column would be complete without a few words of gratitude to my readers, and I assure you I am deeply grateful for all of you who have ever read my columns. I realize not everyone agrees with some of my opinions but my intent was never to persuade opinion, it was to provoke opinion and discussion of important issues. I also want to thank all of my professors at The College at Brockport for the greatest gift a man can receive: an education.

I owe special debts of gratitude to the history and education departments for thoroughly preparing me for a profession I absolutely love. Finally, thanks to all of the editors of The Stylus for printing this column and fixing those little and big errors.