<h3>By Lee Scott</h3>
There is a moment after watching a great show or reading a good book when you realize you have to say “good bye”. Those new friends (characters) that you have gotten to know and have allowed into your life, suddenly disappear as the credits roll or the last page is read. People talk about watching movies multiple times or rereading a classic that they read years ago, but I’m sorry, it is just not the same. Those initial introductions and story lines have a unique impact on you that very first time. It is because of this feeling that when I am getting to the end of reading a really good book, I read slower so I can somehow extend my characters’ lives. But unless there is a sequel, the characters are gone. Only shadows of their former selves to be brought out again in our memories or discussions with others.

The real indications for me as to whether or not I truly loved a show or book are those moments afterwards. When I sit in the theatre as the credits go by for the Assistant to the Assistant Lighting director; not wanting to get up and face the stark daylight and let those characters fade. Or when I finish a good book, I find myself sitting there for a few minutes maybe reading the author’s biography or discovering what else they have written, not quite letting go.

Now for those of us who have been watching “Downton Abbey” the BBC/PBS series which has captured Americans for the past five years, the final good bye is coming. I sit in front of the television set each Sunday and watch the final chapters as they slip by. The characters’ stories are starting to wrap up. Like others who are engrossed in this series, a part of me wants to see closure for all the characters. (Besides that, I do not want them to have to endure another world war.) Yet I confess that the selfish part of me wants one more season so I can keep these friends coming back into my house each week.

Ultimately, it is time to say goodbye. But the good news is that out there somewhere is another show or book that will once again introduce me to new friends. In the meantime, I will savor my time saying goodbye to Lady Mary.