Sometimes a headline writer captures an article's point so concisely that the article is almost superfluous.

And so it was last Monday, when the headline on my column read, "Pittsburgh has arrived. Let's move on."

And so we did.

We prepared for the G-20 like crazy, and we met the over-hyped protests with a calm resolve. We were ideal hosts to our guests, both invited and uninvited.

We took photos of the swanky delegates and the colorful protesters, and we took mug-shots of the rioters and vandals.

My favorite image? The PG photo of the police officer taking a photo of the protester whose sign read, "I [Heart] Capitalism, So Stop Smashing Our Windows!"

As last week's headline said, we've arrived. "Moving on" means we won't be calling up the rest of the world this week to ask, over and over again, "Didn't we do a great job?"

I promise I won't betray last week's point by pausing today to indulge the city's undeserved insecurity with a nice, post-summit round of applause.

There'll be no sucking up to anyone here. Not to my headline writer, because given the state of the newspaper industry, there's nothing to be gained.

And I'm not sucking up to Pittsburgh, because, well, ditto: Given the state of the newspaper industry, there's nothing to be gained.

But, but, but ... It's just that editors, like Pittsburgh citizens -- heck, like most people everywhere -- toil in relative obscurity, just getting it done. That quality is the city's greatest strength, and it's our greatest hope for moving onward and upward. It deserves some contemplation.

Consider the people who made it a point to patronize the businesses damaged by a few rioters in Oakland and Shadyside. Many of the 19 buildings with windows shattered and tables busted Thursday were open for business on Friday.

A Subway restaurant manager said, "We're going to stay open ... and let [the rioters] know they're not really affecting us."

A sign at the Craig Street Quiznos read, "Please forgive the mess caused by the 'Peace-Loving,' 'Save the Earth' G-20 Summit Protesters" and expressed gratitude for customers' patronage since "insurance doesn't cover riots."

And many diners told a Pamela's co-owner Friday that "they came in just to support us."

That's how it's done. Maintaining humor and rallying together in the face of what could have been major setbacks -- especially when doing so comes with a stack of awesome pancakes.

Pointing out to protesters that manufacturing new glass and laminated fiberboard to replace what they broke is bad for the environment? I'll have that irony, with a side of Lyonnaise potatoes.

Though the damage is significant to the individual businesses affected, the G-20 was a triumph for the city overall. Having seen the bloody scenes from the London summit in April, our officials made sure Pittsburgh was prepared for the worst, and thus avoided it. They deserve our thanks.

Those who criticize them now for mustering too many officers and displaying too much control are the same whiners who would have savaged and sued them if people had been hurt in crowds spinning out of control due to too little policing.

At the other end of the spectrum from the anti-authoritarian posers were the civilians who volunteered for G-20 patrols. More than 100 out-of-state police officers bunked down at Allegheny Center Alliance Church on the North Side, and more than 300 partook of the hot meals served free there each night.

At that location, the wall of separation between church and state morphed into a razor-wire-topped fence with everyone on the same side. Employees of the state ate and slept safely inside the church while unarmed church volunteers patrolled behind the fence. A friend on guard duty until midnight amused himself with this cognitive dissonance and mused, via e-mail, on a valedictory letter written by George Washington:

"I now make it my earnest Prayer, that God would ... incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of ... obedience to Government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, ... particularly for their brethren who have served in the Field."

Well, we loved our fellow citizens by refusing to let them destroy our community, and we honor those "serving in the field" by thanking them for the risks they took on our behalf.

So, having not just survived but thrived during our brief turn on the world's stage, what's next? Last week a reader approvingly quoted Coach Bear Bryant: "When you get in the end zone, act like you've been there before."

We scored. No excessive celebration necessary -- we just keep on playing.

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