I’m taking a class from my son. Andy founded and runs Comics Experience, an online school teaching what I call “comicbookery.”

He recruits professional artists and authors of comic books and graphic novels to teach students seeking careers in the field. Class sessions take place online, with everyone sitting comfortably at home. As in other classes, there are lectures and homework assignments, all done online. This appears to work well and students seem pleased.

I’m taking Andy’s introductory class. Not that I’m looking for a career in comicbookery, I like being retired — careers are for younger people to worry about. My purpose is to get to know an aspect of my son that I’ve never known before (due to my total disinterest in comic books).

Happy surprise: Andy is an excellent teacher!

This comes as a surprise because if you’d asked me 20 years ago whether Andy, who was chiefly noted for sleeping in late and taking naps, would succeed in any field and then found a school to teach his craft to others, I’d have hemmed and hawed before giving you an answer.

But this column isn’t about Andy. It’s about courtesy.

In his opening lecture to his introductory class, Andy identified three things that contribute to a successful career in comicbookery: talent, a professional attitude, and courtesy. He said some people do well with just two of the three.

Their talent may be average, but if they’re professional and courteous, they often get work. Or someone may miss deadlines and fail to return emails, but still get work if he’s talented and courteous.

It was Andy’s mentioning of courtesy that surprised me. If listing qualities that make for a successful career, I wouldn’t have thought of courtesy.

To illustrate his point, Andy said that occasionally a student asks for a refund of his tuition, which Andy usually grants. But once in a while, a student seeking a refund will insult or threaten Andy’s assistant who answers the phone.

“When Marta gets a call like that, I tell her to pass the caller over to me,” Andy told me. “I often grant refunds to people who ask politely, especially if the person had grown ill or lost his job after enrolling in the class,” Andy said.

But he never grants a refund to someone who is rude to his staff. “I don’t want to reward discourteous behavior. And I suggest that they try a more courteous approach in the future.”

Andy isn’t alone in that. Most people want to cooperate with someone who shows them respect, and that’s what courtesy is — showing respect for another’s wishes, needs and feelings. If you’re looking for work, courtesy will open doors that otherwise might have remained closed to you.

I shall never forget the time courtesy paid off for me. I was waiting to fly home from Gatwick airport in London.

For three hours, my flight was posted as “Delayed,” with no explanation. The other passengers and I grew worried and anxious. Some had important business in the U.S. the next day.

Finally, an airline representative arrived and explained that our plane had mechanical problems that couldn’t be fixed. We would be flying on a different plane, but unfortunately, it was at Heathrow, not at Gatwick.

Our flight crew had also been awake too long, so another flight crew was on its way to Heathrow. They would prepare the plane, then fly it to Gatwick. Then we could board. This would take another three hours or so.

Moreover, the new plane was a different kind of airliner, so all our seats would have to be reassigned.

My fellow passengers were irate. They insulted the airline representative, shouted at him, and accused him of being stupid, calloused, and cruel. They threatened to sue him. Meanwhile, the representative kept his cool and remained courteous throughout.

As the airline representative prepared to leave us, I approached him, thanked him, and told him I admired how he had remained calm and spoken courteously to people who were anything but courteous to him.

“Thank you,” he said. “Let me see your ticket. You just got a free upgrade to first class.”

Richard H. Schmidt is a retired Episcopal priest, editor and author who lives in Fairhope. He can be reached at courier@gulfcoastnewspapers.com.