We just received a notice from Ming, our Gazette delivery person, that she must leave her delivery job to attend to her 92-year-old mother in Taiwan. I hope she won’t mind if I quote a section of her touching letter to her customers.

“Every morning, when I deliver the newspaper to you, I feel like we have a silent connection. Perhaps you have just come home from walking your dog and are about to make a cup of coffee and enjoy reading the newspaper on the couch. Perhaps you want to know what is going on around you before you go to work. In any case, I deeply appreciate the chance I have had to serve you.”

Ming noted that she has raised her children over 25 years based on her newspaper delivery income.

When I was a rookie reporter in Alabama many years ago, the switchboard operator had the weekend off, so calls came into the newsroom on those days (when newbies worked). Half of the calls were complaints about the delivery of their paper. I never got a call saying, “I just want to thank my delivery person.” We seem more drawn to grievance than gratitude.

For all of her 25 years, we have never had a complaint about Ming’s delivery. If there was a problem with the printer or distributor, she would always advise her customers and make up for it as soon as possible. So, I want to thank Ming for all of her professional and courteous service over all these years and for the spirit of community she expressed in her letter.

Her letter and service inspire me to remind us all of two things.

First, she is right. A local newspaper, and other local media, inform us and build a sense of community. They enable informed democracy. They deserve and need our ongoing support.

Second, let’s take a moment to thank all those folks who labor behind the scenes, without a byline (or before the sun is up). In the case of newspapers: the sales crew, receptionist, accountant, administrative assistants, librarians, the layout folks, the printing crew, the truckers, the floor sweepers, the ad stuffers, the home deliverers, and even the editors and publisher.

And we can extend that to the many others whose jobs we tend to take for granted — working in the kitchen, driving the garbage and recycling trucks, plowing the snow, installing the solar panels, and delivering the papers, the mail, UPS, FedEx, and pizza. And let us not forget the IT crowd.

Thank you, Ming, for reminding us of the dignity of humanity that ties us all together.

Tom Gardner lives in Amherst.