Marsha from Cave Creek, Arizona

How’s this for a memory?

Actually it’s not much of a memory at all so let’s put it down as a defense --- self-defense. Marsha from Cave Creek was surfing the internet and was taken with our trip to the English Cotswold but less taken with my writing skills. She is one of my first commenters to the blog.  

Marsha, a recently retired English teacher from Chicago wishes I would put the “dash” away.  

No can do Marsha --- I love the dash and feel that I am one of the few remaining exponents of the dash. The dash is great to have in one’s punctuation toolbox. In fact, I am about to come to the rescue of another nearly forgotten literary tool --- the semicolon.  The poor forgotten semicolon bravely offers the writer a more forceful pause rather than the weak-kneed coma. Not really sure but it always seemed to me that Hemingway and Fitzgerald did-in the mighty semicolon. 

Now Marsha, what I do see is LOL, BTW, DM, YOLO, BRB, TTYL.  My challenged dash is better than that nonsense any day of the week. 

Enjoy the Cotswold.  

Finally, Marsha correctly noted that in my writings I drove her crazy with my inconsistencies in jumping back and forth between 2 and two; 3 and three; 8 and eight, and every other possible combination. 

Marsha you are right. I am inconsistent. I follow both my mood and Emerson. 

Enjoy the Cotswold.