There are many ways to say thank you. Commonsense dictates it’s best to tailor the message.

For instance, one wouldn’t normally thank his wife on a wedding anniversary by buying her a new fishing rod or hunting rifle.

Unless such pursuits were her hobbies, she might conclude you were a tad out of touch.

Folks at Kindred Transitional Care and Rehabilitation — or Nansemond Pointe — were faced with this challenge when they decided to thank the city’s first-responders for the service they provide.

Another thing to keep in mind when deciding how to say thank you is your knowledge base.

For instance, a husband may be led to purchase his wife a new piece of outdoor recreation equipment for their anniversary, because that’s something he knows a thing or two about.

He might be smart enough to realize she’d prefer a pair of shoes, but what does he know about women’s shoes? He knows a lot about fishing rods, including what type his wife would benefit most from.

In arriving at lunch-on-the-go, Nansemond Pointe not only showed great empathy for the first-responders, but also played to its strengths.

Spread out on tables on the driveway outside the facility’s front door Friday were barbecue, grilled chicken, cheeseburgers, Italian sausage, baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad and cookies. (I hope I haven’t left anything out.)

It was good food, cooked and served up by kitchen staff obviously talented.

So, Nansemond Pointe knew first-responders would appreciate a tasty lunch they could drive away with and eat inside their squad cars, fire trucks and ambulances, and also knew it had the know-how to deliver.

And deliver it did. The men and women lining up along the tables last week for their lunches expressed sincere and hearty thanks. There may have been one or two spouse-prepared lunchboxes that were returned home that evening contents untouched, and several city eateries were probably down a bit on sales that day.

It’s a good idea to stop and think every once in while what our first-responders do every day. They rescue our grandmother when she falls and breaks her hip. When our son or daughter is in a car crash, they’re the ones we rely on to keep them clinging to life before the hospital.

When we’re the victims of crime, they seek justice. When we’re stuck in a burning building we can’t see a way out of, they’ll do whatever they can.

I’d just like to say thank you to Nansemond Pointe for saying thank you in a way my cooking skills couldn’t match.