The girl taking tickets in the movie theater lobby stared at me as a I drew closer.

""You're Kevin Walker,'' she said. It was a declaration, not a question, a weird thing I have never gotten used to. ""You write that Rail column.''

I nodded. Sometimes, if you just nod, people get thrown off and don't proceed to berate you because you wrote that Steven Spielberg is overrated.

She smiled. Good sign.

""I want you to know that I decided to read Kurt Vonnegut's "Breakfast of Champions' because you wrote about it. It's so good. I just wanted to thank you!''

I mumbled something. I don't remember what. I also don't remember what movie I saw that day in 1999. And I never got the girl's name, although I know she was a high school student. But I've never forgotten her.

That unknown girl represents the reason why writing this column has been so satisfying. I intended this to be a conversational column about pop culture … I just never dreamed so many would want to join the conversation.

For that … for thousands of e-mails and phone calls full of wit and insight and interpretations of the ending of ""Planet of the Apes'' … I thank you.

Reader feedback is what I'll miss most about not writing The Rail anymore.

I am moving on to editing the Tribune's new book pages. I'm already editing the biweekly Pages inside BayLife on Sundays. I hope some of you (OK, all of you) will check them out.

It's a dream job, for me. Newspaper columnist never was. I once thought it might be. It's a status position many journalists fight to attain. Some think I'm insane, giving it up. Truth is, I never thought I would do it for very long.

So, of course, I ended up doing it 6 1/2 years.

It's a weird career I am having, folks. But you've made this part more fun than I ever could have imagined.

I have to thank Judy Hill, then features editor, for allowing something this strange in BayLife, Kim MacCormack (the Pop Culture Diva) for allowing me freedom in what I wrote, and editors Linda Ross, Janice Hall, Rick Mayer and Kevin Barnard for cleaning up my copy and excellent fact checking. And Andy Dorsett for designing Bobo the Dog.

And my wife and daughter for putting up with having ""that Rail guy'' in the house.

I wish you all happiness and good movies on cable on rainy Saturdays.

Had some fun, didn't we?

Kevin Walker writes about pop culture and can be reached at (813) 259-7975 or kwalker@tampatrib.com.

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