Food for Thought: Is It Ever Too Late for Apologies?

I read in today's New York Times that Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Hill, called Anita Hill to ask her for an apology and an explanation.  You probably recall that in 1991 (yes, almost 20 years ago!) Ms. Hill testified during Justice Hill's confirmation hearings that he had made inappropriate sexual comments.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that was pretty much what brought workplace sexual harrassment into the spotlight.  But I digress.

Here's the text of Ms. Thomas' voicemail (again, a voicemail?):

“Good morning Anita Hill, it’s Ginni Thomas,” ...“I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband.”
Ms. Thomas went on: “So give it some thought. And certainly pray about this and hope that one day you will help us understand why you did what you did. O.K., have a good day.”

In response to Ms. Thomas’s statement, Ms. Hill said that she had testified truthfully about her experiences with the future Justice Thomas and that she had nothing to apologize for.  “I appreciate that no offense was intended, but she can’t ask for an apology without suggesting that I did something wrong, and that is offensive,” Ms. Hill said.

Ms. Thomas: 
“I did place a call to Ms. Hill at her office extending an olive branch to her after all these years, in hopes that we could ultimately get passed what happened so long ago,” she said. “That offer still stands. I would be very happy to meet and talk with her if she would be willing to do the same. Certainly no offense was ever intended.”   (Get "passed?"  Please.  It should be "past.")  But again I digress.

So that got me thinking:  is it ever too late to apologize?  Or to ask for an apology?

Frankly, I'm more concerned about the first question.  I still remember, in vivid detail, several of the mean and hurtful things I've said and done over the years.  Sometimes I even can't sleep for thinking of these episodes.  On the other hand, I'm hard-pressed to remember any specific incident in which I felt hurt by someone else.  I'm sure there were some, I just can't remember them.  Except one, maybe, from high school, but that was from a 16 year old boy so what can you expect?

Anyway, I don't think I'd ever call someone up and ask for an apology.  What if they didn't remember the incident?  What if they denied it?  What if, like Ms. Hill, they didn't think they'd done anything wrong or offensive? 

But is it too late for me to make amends to the people I know I've offended over the years?  A kind of a mini 12 steps thing?  I haven't even spoken to the people involved in 20 or so years (the main thing that I keep thinking about goes back to 1982.  And it wasn't horrible and they probably don't remember, but I still feel terrible about it.) 

I'm sure there are other, equally or more terrible, things I've done to other people that I don't remember or even cosider offensive.  Would apologizing for this one incident somehow make amends for everything?  Sort of, hey, I'd apologize if I only knew I did it?

Or am I making too much of this?  Do we all have incidents in our lives that we're less than proud of, so that, cosmically, everything is even?

Just thinking.