I am here ensconced in the office on a Christmas morning and punching away my keyboard. It is Christmas day, December 25, 2007 and I am at work. That is what it is with my chosen career. As a journalist, writer, I am always at work. When I am not writing I must be listening around, observing, researching or reading. I can’t afford to make mistakes, even though some mistakes are allowed and can easily be forgiven in this enterprise of writing. Each day even just like today, I am thinking of you my readers as well. Those of you who take time to read my articles ever since I began writing for this medium, some of you have never missed a single piece I have written. I have made some friends and some enemies too - through writing for myjoyonline. But that is to be expected. I know that so well because I have been practicing professional journalism since October 1990. That was some 17 years ago. I am quite aware of the risks and benefits of sticking one’s neck out and expressing views and opinions. I am however, thankful that you read what I write. Some of you have written to me personally to show your appreciation, and others have even written to seek my permission to quote my works in your articles and academic papers. Some of you have even told me of how you have used some of my works to study and write your examinations at the university. Some of you have specifically written to tell me to keep on writing! These are encouraging and they keep me going. I have read some encouraging comments to my articles on the internet, and I have also read the insults and often contentious counter arguments. It is all well and good in the spirit of intellectual discourse, knowledge and information sharing. You read, and that’s why we writers write. Without readers, we are nothing, and without writers, readers do not exist. It is a beautiful feeling sometimes when we writers become aware of how much useful we can be to our readers. It is the reason why we exist and engage in our enterprise. You are all a wonderful people. You who read what we write, and especially those of you who take time to make comments on what we write and even for those of you who go the extra mile to make phone calls to talk to us and to write personal emails to us. You are our encouragement in difficult times, and many difficult times we face as we do our duties. We are indebted to you. We are glad we have the privilege to serve you. I wish you all, my special and discerning readers a Merry Christmas. May the coming year bring with it greater opportunities for me to continue to serve you through my writings. The challenges can only get bigger, but also better. Because with heightened challenges comes sharpened perspectives and a stronger will to deliver. It is not an easy task, but like all great and committed journalists and writers before me, I will do my best for you my most cherished readers. I remember some of the topics like 'Ghana: a theatre for 'political jingoism', 'Ghana's internet growth slowed by high cost', 'E-waste is killing Ghanaians slowly', which influenced a national decision to educate citizens on the impacts of e-waste in Cook Islands, but not a single national response in Ghana. I have written on education in Ghana under topics like, 'Ghanaian Universities and the issues of full cost recovery', 'Is there justification for higher education in Ghana?'. I have written on other topics like, 'Do mobile phones have health implications?', 'Gender construction in African proverbs - an analysis' and 'Is Ghana becoming a lawless state?', 'The Slave Trade and Africa's economic woes', and so on. All these articles can be found on myjoyonline. Thank you very much. Keep reading. I also wish the management and staff of Multimedia Group Limited, all the great guys at Joy FM and the indefatigable myjoyonline team. You are the guys! Have a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous Happy New Year. Authored by: Emmanuel K. Dogbevi Email: edogbevi@hotmail.com