It seems that Dave Barry may be trying to go out at the top:
The Last Laugh (washingtonpost.com): “So this is a great job. And yet I’m quitting it, at least for now. I want to stop before I join the horde of people who think I used to be funnier. And I want to work on some other stuff. So for the next year, I won’t be writing regular columns, though I hope to weigh in from time to time if something really important happens, such as a cow exploding in a boat toilet. At some point in the next year, I hope to figure out whether I want to resume the column. Right now, I truly don’t know.
“So in case I don’t get to say this later: Thanks to all you editors for printing my column, and thanks especially to all you readers for reading it. You’ve given me the most wonderful career an English major could hope to have. I am very grateful.
“And I’m not making that up.”