Making the world a better place, one sentence at a time
People across the globe use the turn of the year as an opportunity to dump bad habits, clean out their closets and raise their game. Most folks figure if they’re going to make a new start, then New Year’s Day provides the perfect moment as there is no need to awkwardly add another random date to their chronology of life achievements.
Let’s face it: “I finally conquered rhinotillexomania on Dec. 31, 2024,” could never roll off the tongue nearly as easily as “I haven’t picked my nose since last year.” Furthermore, the lack of exactitude allows you to claim the entire previous year right from the start, when in fact you’ve only been keeping your pinkies clean for a week or two.
My resolutions this year were considerably less dramatic and fell more on the side of “sharpening my axe” than slaying any particular giant. My inspiration was provided by a pair of books I’d picked up during the used book sale down at the fairgrounds. I use the annual fall event to add ballast to my nightstand in hopes of smoothing the waves of melancholy that wash across my world when the sun heads to Florida for the season.
The first book, “Eats, Shoots & Leaves” by Lynne Truss, is a hilarious critique of flagging grammar skills in the modern world. The second, titled “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” by none other than Stephen King, the undisputed King of Horror, is filled with great pointers on diction and composition. Although each was published over 20 years ago, the lessons hold true today — and at a dollar a cover the cost had finally fallen into my range. While vastly different in their approach, the common takeaway was writing right matters.
The message struck a chord. In this age of grammatically mangled emails and emoji-choked text messages, I decided to take a stand for the written word. Beginning Jan. 1, I resolved to ensure everything I write is on point, whether a simple grocery list or a voluminous critique of a Shakespearean sonnet. (I can fully imagine the esteemed editor of this newspaper rolling his eyes at this very moment.)
I told no one of my vow but decided instead to lead by example. And in my very first correspondence of the year, I took great pains to get things right in a text message to my daughter Charlotte: “I seem to have misplaced my camera. Might it be at your house?”
Her reply came within seconds: “I haven’t seen it this morning cleaning up, but I’ll keep looking. Why do you sound like a proper Englishman?”
She called me moments later to make sure my phone hadn’t been stolen. I can see this is going to be an uphill battle.
Kristin and John Lorson would love to hear from you. Write Drawing Laughter, P.O. Box 170, Fredericksburg, OH 44627, or email John at jlorson@alonovus.com.