I was just struck by the term that was being used to describe her. Even though I've been seeing and hearing it used for a long time, it just suddenly came to me that I had no idea what it really means. I know what the word 'journalist' is supposed to mean (although most who bear that descriptor really aren't journalists, but corporate shills). A columnist is one who writes columns? What's a column? A bunch of words in some sort of print media? How do we determine who deserves to be seriously called a columnist? One whose credentials arise entirely from the number of people who read their words?

I don't know. Sometimes things just hit you in a way they never did before and in a way that you didn't ever expect them to.