It’s National Punctuation Day

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Slow-Comma-Down

“I have always liked commas, but I seem to be in a shrinking minority. The comma is in retreat, though it is not yet extinct. In text messages and e-mails, commas appear infrequently, and then often by accident (someone hits the wrong key). Even on the printed page, commas are dwindling. Many standard uses from my childhood (after, for example, an introductory prepositional phrase) have become optional or, worse, have been ditched. 

“If all this involved only grammar, I might let it lie. But the comma’s sad fate is, I think, a metaphor for something larger: how we deal with the frantic, can’t-wait-a-minute nature of modern life. The comma is, after all, a small sign that flashes PAUSE. It tells the reader to slow down, think a bit, and then move on. We don't have time for that. No pauses allowed. In this sense, the comma’s fading popularity is also social commentary.” 

 —Robert J. Samuelson, columnist, “Farewell, Comma, He Said,” The Washington Post, 2007

• Editorial Comment: Let’s pause to eat Gramma.

PeezPIX by Ted Pease
 

Unsettled Sea off Elk Head





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(Be)Friend Dr. Ted, Professor of Interesting Stuff

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Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff
Utah State University, Logan, Utah, & Humboldt State University, Arcata, Calif.

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“Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard
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