DEAR SEAN:
I taught English for 21 years and I often read grammatical mistakes in your writing. This makes me cringe. May I suggest that you refrain from calling yourself a columnist (as you often do) until you get your grammar in order?
I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but you’re not a columnist. True newspaper columnists like Ann Landers and Erma Bombeck were in command of the English language. Your command is questionable.
Thanks,
GET-AN-EDITOR
DEAR MRS. SUNSHINE:
You’re more fun than a trip to the dentist. Which is exactly where I was when I read your gracious email. I was sitting in the dentist’s chair while Doctor Tim Nettles of Columbiana, Alabama, was peering into my oral cavity and admiring several decades of Folgers stains.
During this vulnerable moment, my phone vibrated in my pocket with your uplifting email. What a blessing. You sound like someone I could really be friends with.
But hey, you’re entitled to your opinions. This is America. And like my grandfather always said:
“Our opinions are like shiny award plaques hanging in used car dealerships that nobody gives a flying flip about.”
You would have liked Granddaddy. He would have made you cringe, too. He butchered English like it was a dollar-store minute steak. The man worked in sentence fragments the way some work in oils or clay.
“Sir?” a waitress might say to Granddaddy. “Would you like a refill on your iced tea?”
He would extend his cup and grunt: “Much ‘blige t’ya.”
The waitress would commence pouring, whereupon Granddaddy would nod and say, “‘Preciate ch’all.”
Before walking away, the waitress, who also spoke fluent Fragment-ese, would give the universal response. “Ah-ite.”
You would have been in linguistic heaven.
So you’re absolutely right about me fouling up the English language. And I for one ‘preciate cha. Thank you for taking the time to help me understand just what a star pupil I am. You deserve a shiny plaque.
Although in my defense, my stinky English probably comes from all the blue-collar jobs I’ve worked. We low totem guys were not exactly known for quoting Lord Byron on our lunch breaks. Neither were we noted for our sparkling Sunday-school grammar.
No, if you would have overheard me and my pals speak everyday English on construction jobsites you would’ve probably had a coronary event. Then you would have fired us and hired English majors to construct your two-story deck.
A guy learns to talk funny when he digs ditches for a living. And as it happens, I actually did dig ditches for a living. I did a stint with a company that excavated irrigation trenches and installed sprinkler systems.
One time I was cutting a 300-foot trough through the mud when I was struck with a rare moment of existential awareness, and I started laughing.
My coworker, Jesús, asked what was so funny. So I told him I’d just realized I was a literal ditch digger.
Jesús failed to see the humor because he spoke limited English. All Jesús said was, “You feelin’ alright, man? Maybe you should go lay down.”
Sadly, Jesús got fired after that because it’s “lie” not “lay.”
So I wasn’t groomed to be a writer. Let alone a columnist. I apologize for mislabeling myself. You know what I am? I’m just a guy. A guy who makes a lot off mistikes&3,/$
But here’s something you might not know. Did you know that most classic columnists made lots of grammatical mistakes, too? I’m not kidding. Your well-known columnists of yore were always getting criticized for frequent usage of cereal-box grammar.
Since you mentioned Erma Bombeck. Here’s what Saint Erma had to say about her grammar in an old column:
“I’m sure my 3rd grade English teacher, Mrs. Kinsler, (may she rest in peace. Or is it piece?) would be appalled to know that I had not yet mastered the “I vs. Me” rule. She once sent a letter home to my parents and I (me and my parents?) about my ongoing problems with this rule, and one time she even sent me to the principal (principle??) because of it.”
You also brought up Ann Landers in your letter to me. Well, here’s what Dear Ann had to say in a column to the grammar police decades ago:
“…As one who has split countless infinitives and dangled many a participle, I applaud your point of view. A person who has nothing to say, and conveys it in flawless English, still says nothing.”
If I’m being honest, friend, my first reaction to your critique was to rattle off a four-page response attempting to justify things and make myself feel better.
But why? Why fuss and fight over comma splices when we could have an infinitely more gratifying argument about religion, professional sports, or child rearing?
No, these days we have too many who are obsessed with being right when they ought to be more worried about being nice. And as of right now I’m making a serious vow with myself to be a nicer guy.
Speaking of nice people, here’s what Ann Landers had to say about nice souls:
“Blessed are those who hold lively conversations with the helplessly mute, for they shall be called dentists.”
You really should visit my dentist sometime. He works wonders on bad mouths.
175 comments
Christa Gettys - May 10, 2021 8:36 am
I’m 50. Gotta start with that cause some folks think that’s pretty old. I did at one time, now, not so much. I think 121 is getting up there in years, so I have a while to go before I’m old. That all being said, I love with a passion writing as well. What do I write you may or may not ask (I’ll tell ya…) I write fanfiction! Yup, I spend my time dreaming of things or rather having my characters attack me with luscious plot bunnies that I am forced to expound on for the enjoyment of others (really it’s all for me, if others like them, then great)
I write pretty much all from the books and movies of Tolkien’s works. The hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and Silmarillion. I found I fell down a rabbit hole one day and popped out face first into a Hobbit hole and never looked back! I’m happiest when I write and can create from that.
here is a trick I use on my Archive of my Own site that I write for. I use tags to warn the overzealous or the unwary of things to come! One of my best is hashtag AUTHOR USES GRAMMATICAL ERRORS TO THE BEST OF HER ABILITY or hashtag BAD GRAMMAR HAS BEEN USED ON PURPOSE. I feel bad for folks who cringe (I do on occasion with others writings but I keep my big yap shut unless asked to share some knowledge).
I wonder how many have cringed from this?!? I’ve never been able to keep anything to 120 characters (that kills me on a level I hate to talk about)
And honestly, amazing writing that grips my heart and soul as all your does, kinda helps my brain not see anything other than the intent of your musings, sharing a par to your soul with mine…
horcrux maybe? Perhaps.
tl;dr Lordy but I hate the grammar police!
Marilyn Ward Vance - May 10, 2021 8:39 am
…and I’m sure her ‘column’ would have been perfect in every way but not NEARLY as interesting and funny. Button it up, Sweetheart!
Trudy - May 10, 2021 7:56 pm
Applause, applause!!!
Carolyn Bryan - May 10, 2021 10:09 pm
As a retired English teacher, I am appalled at the comments regarding your use of the language. I hope not all of your comments weren’t above her head. Guess Mark Twain couldn’t have called himself a writer either. Anyway I really hate it when English teachers make us all look totally ridiculous.
Gregory Comer - May 10, 2021 8:52 am
Ouch!
Bar - May 10, 2021 9:30 am
Love you, your wit, and your grammatical errors …
KellyAnne - May 10, 2021 9:40 am
This is epic. Some of us write from the heart. A few write from body orfices better off unnamed. I like the heart much more better.
Leigh - May 10, 2021 1:20 pm
Loved your response! I’m actually going to say it made me LOL which should give Mrs. Sunshine a coronary. PS – can’t wait to read Stars of Alabama!
Deborah Blount - May 10, 2021 9:45 am
I honestly believe your grammar police English teacher is missing to point of your articles. Your life stories do not need editing. Dangle all the participles you want to. Those of us who enjoy your life commentaries could care less if your grammar has mistakes. Keep on keeping on.
Judy McCall - May 10, 2021 10:00 am
I love this, Sean! What a perfect response to this person! I love your writing style, and I am too busy laughing or crying by the time I finish what you wrote to notice any sort of writing flaw. You are truly gifted.
All of us are covered in barnacles, some more pronounced than others. To call attention to said barnacles can be tricky, and come out as a complete loss of etiquette. This person must be miserable critiquing your work, so much so that they don’t give themselves a chance to laugh, cry or ponder.
Thanks, Sean, for all of it!
A fan,
Judy McCall
eliza - May 10, 2021 10:45 am
So true Judy McCall
Te Burt - May 10, 2021 10:06 am
Tell it, honey! And you can pronounce that in your best accent of your choice.
Ksren - May 10, 2021 10:30 am
I grew up with a grammar police mother who drilled us with the “correct grammar of the day”. I still notice misspellings & errors to this day. However I had the distinct honor of marrying the love of my life—an extremely smart and successful man—who never (despite my early earnest correction) ever changed his version of lie-lay. 60 years of marriage taught me that perfect grammar is not a prerequisite for a happy life. Indeed we most enjoyed those who spoke from their hearts unconcerned about proper word usage.
Karen - May 10, 2021 10:32 am
Nobody is perfect. I couldn’t even type my name (above) correctly!!!
Ann - May 10, 2021 10:52 am
Oh my, you “ did that” sooooo well!! Wham!!😂😂
Teka Pierce - May 10, 2021 10:59 am
Keep being you. That’s enuf. My husband will never remember if he saw someone or if he seen them. Makes me want to correct him every time. I don’t because it is just him. And that’s enuf. Lol
Trish - May 10, 2021 11:02 am
I am a teacher too… and I LOVE reading Sean each and every morning for his great perspectives on LIFE. He reminds me to stop and reflect on life’s greatest lessons. If his grammar bothers you, unsubscribe. Nobody is asking you to score his “column”. Makes me wonder how many students you have discouraged through the years !
Ann - May 10, 2021 12:00 pm
You understand!
Jean - May 10, 2021 11:28 am
There are those in this world..who seem to think it is their lot in life to correct and criticize anybody or anything that is not like them. Since the world of the internet rules now…it’s even worse. I love reading your column every day…and frankly, I must be stupid since i see nothing wrong with it. You just keep on keeping on! We love you!
Heather Miller - May 10, 2021 1:53 pm
I had nuns like her in school, grades one through 12. Note I spelled one because you have to do that until you write ten. Then, and only then, can you simply write 11. I learned to conjugate sentences until I was blue in the face. I wish I had been taught how to fill out IRS forms, figure out insurance policy language, and a few other things that would have mattered more than ABSOLUTE correct grammar-at-all-times-for-the-rest-of-my-life-so-help-me-God. Sean, I don’t care how you write. The content is what I sop up like biscuits in gravy every day, and it reduces me to tears or makes me laugh, and laugh hard. I’m 83, and I do know what’s important in life, and the most important thing is not correct grammar, it’s to love one another, take time to smell the roses, and always have on clean underwear in case you are hit by a train and have to go to the hospital, which our mother told us. Daily. I love you.
Jane - May 10, 2021 11:31 am
Double AMEN! I suggest, Ms. “Get an Editor”, that you no longer read this highly appreciated, widely read, gifted and talented columnist’s offerings any longer. Then, go find something to do that actually contributes in a real way to society. Bless your heart!
Kenneth Mitchell - May 10, 2021 11:35 am
toothshay…
K - May 10, 2021 11:37 am
This was a great one! LOVED IT!
pdjpop - May 10, 2021 11:39 am
Dear Brother Sean,
I taught English to some wonderful students who learned to diagram sentences, apply the I/me rule, build sentences, identify each part of speech and write to be effective. We discussed, in great length, something many teachers avoid when teaching “writing by the rules.” They don’t discuss audience. “To whom doest though write?”
Communication happens on many levels. When you and I decide to be lawyers, Sean, it will take both of us a while to wade through that …. let’s call it language. Choice of words matter in court and law making.
Reading your COLUMN, communication happens on the level of friendship, common experiences, family, pain, redemption, love (on many levels), ….. you get what I’m saying. You have a style that your audience loves. You reach us. You convey a message from your eyes, heart and mind. We celebrate you.
In consideration of ANY negative criticism, use a line from mobsters: “Forget about it!”
On this day, Monday, May 10, 2021, I, Coach Jennings, hereby issue you a LITERARY LICENSE to write while breaking literary standards and violating rules of “Proper” English in order to provide a more perfect mode of communication to the people, for the people and with the people who read your wonderful column. (By the way, your writing appears in a column. That makes you a columnist.)
Congratulations!
Bob Brenner - May 10, 2021 11:43 am
I wonder if this person ever heard from her parents the following Good Life Rule, “if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all”! Or possibly keep your trap shut!! Try reading Sean’s column every day, I promise you’ll become a better person. 🤐
Tammy S. - May 10, 2021 11:45 am
Geezzz, she is missing the point. But we all get it. Reader for life over here!! 🙋🏼♀️ Best, most gifted writer we all know!!! When you can bring adults to tears, then have us laughing and smiling by articles end, or have us all thinking about life and how to be better, nicer humans, well that is the best talent of all. Thanks for being our #1 favorite columnist, Sean!!
*Hope Jamie will make you some fried chicken and homemade biscuits after “that hard day at the office.”
Tamara Gabbard - May 10, 2021 11:51 am
thanks. . . this was grate.
Lisa Weir - May 10, 2021 11:54 am
You didn’t ask for my opinion, but ima give to ya anyway…in your own words… No, these days we have too many who are obsessed with being right when they ought to be more worried about being nice. Damn.
Candy Clark - May 10, 2021 11:56 am
Priceless response!! Continue on “columnist” Sean!
Annie Sommers - May 10, 2021 11:58 am
We all love you so much and you inspire us to be better people. We are not looking at grammar when we read your columns. We are looking at what you have to say and your grammar is fine. It says everything to get us started on our day.
Tim Smith - May 10, 2021 12:01 pm
Dizzy Dean, famous for “He slud into second” and “He had a notion”, once got a letter from a group of teachers expressing similar criticism. He replied, “ You teach ‘em English and I’ll teach ‘em baseball.”
Roxanne Langley - May 10, 2021 12:01 pm
Poor Jesus. He was just concerned about your health. Also, ‘preciate cha. I’d write more, but I’m fixin’ to teach my 8th grade class.
Susan Wold - May 10, 2021 12:04 pm
Bravo Sean, and shame on her. I bet she was a blast as a teacher…poor kids. I would write my grandmother when I was young, because phone calls were too expensive. She would send my letters back marked and circled with red pen, to show me all my mistakes. She didn’t read what I wrote, only looked for mistakes. She wasn’t a very nice woman and after about three corrected copies of my letters my mom told me I didn’t have to write to her anymore. I’m 66 years old and you never forget. I hope this woman didn’t leave to many scars along the way.
Gayle - May 10, 2021 12:05 pm
What a delightful comeback
Pink13 - May 10, 2021 12:07 pm
Perfect.
Tom - May 10, 2021 12:09 pm
Bravo! Sean. (not sure I punctuated correctly, but I think most will get my drift.)
Starr - May 10, 2021 12:17 pm
Absolutely Classic Response!!!! Oh how I love your grammatical errors! 🙂
Debbie g - May 10, 2021 12:20 pm
Keep on keeping on we love you and your writings quit reading that negative junk. Writing from your heart is what we love ❤️
Bob Rennick - May 10, 2021 12:20 pm
My mother would have furbit me to reed your work but she ain’t her no moor so I do as I pleez.
Denise Walker - May 10, 2021 12:23 pm
So there.
Linda Edwards - May 10, 2021 12:24 pm
Love your column Sean. My good friend Patricia sends it to me every morning. It’s a great way to start a day. Keep on keeping’ on,
Diane Cochran - May 10, 2021 12:26 pm
It’s not your grammar that brings tears to my eyes. So much that you share with your readers takes a lot of courage on your part. Keep up the good work, my friend.
Hazel C King - May 10, 2021 12:28 pm
Let he who has never misplaced a comma or overlooked a typographical error in his own writing feel free to point out grammatical mistakes made by others. The rest of us should withhold judgment lest we also be judged. In the final analysis, it is not proper grammar, accurate typing, or careful proofreading that attracts readers. It is the writer’s ability to tell a story. Writers write; readers read; and critics miss the point.
Kate - May 10, 2021 12:31 pm
Good grief, why does everyone think they should be a critic or that anyone would really care what their ( or is it there, or maybe they’re) opinion is. We all need uplifting, loving,kind, thoughts and Sean, that is what you provide. Ugh – Mrs. Sunshine needs to find some other way to express herself. Ann Landers – really. I am still trying to master the “I and me” which my aunt who is 88 is constantly reminding me that I have not done that yet. We love you Sean, I know that if you get 1,000 good comments that one ugly or not so good one might weigh on your ❤️ heart. Please ignore it. I have written professionally and edited educational materials for years, and frankly, who cares.
Tamara L Shondelmyer - May 10, 2021 12:32 pm
😆
Loved this.
I am a former English teacher and enjoy your columns for what they are—great slices of humanity that make me smile and give me joy.
I used to have a sign that read, “ I am silently correcting your grammar.” This was posted in my classroom, and THAT is where my verbal corrections were made. A place where it was appropriate and not disparaging.
Do I still find myself correcting grammar as I go throughout my days? Yep! SILENTLY.
Keep serving up your delightful entries. I devour them easily and look forward to the each one with anticipation.
Lou - May 10, 2021 12:33 pm
Oh Sean! I don’t think being grammatically correct is on the line here. What’s important is content and trust me, you help steer your loving readers in the best direction possible. You tell life as it is…reality. Thank you so much for your openness and layin’ it on the line. Please continue the way you are…one of the best columnist’s around. Love changes everything! You’re full of it.
Sam and Ann Phillips - May 10, 2021 12:34 pm
This was the highlight of my life!!! My husband and I read your column every morning as we drink our coffee. Thank you!!!
Liz Watkins - May 10, 2021 12:37 pm
God Bless you, Sean. How can people be so rude and ugly! My goodness gracious- she is a Sour Puss!
I love your column- YOU ARE A COLUMNIST!!!
Your response is spot on!! I loved it! You catch more flies with honey- you took the high road and left her in the “Ditches!”
God loves you and so do I!
Peace and God’s Blessings!
Liz🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️😊😊❤️
Brenda Petty - May 10, 2021 12:38 pm
Dear Sean, I love your column and the subjects that you write about! Being a southern woman from middle GA, I love and appreciate your writing! Please keep on being the awesome person person that you are as you bring much sunshine and love to a whole lot of people- thank you darlin’.
Jan - May 10, 2021 12:40 pm
Absolutely perfect!!! So glad I get the pleasure of reading your column each morning instead of the headache which would surely come from reading anything the “English teacher” wrote! Thank you, Sean, for making us laugh and cry and feel like we are acceptable human beings even though we may not be able to speak or write “correct English”.
Pat Thomason - May 10, 2021 12:42 pm
This just made me LOL. I don’t do that often anymore.
peggyhayesauthor - May 10, 2021 12:47 pm
Sean, this is stellar! I don’t know who Ms. Sunshine is, but I’ll bet her grammatically correct words are not nearly as perfect as yours, which are always dead on. And probably not as famous. Please don’t tell her I used a sentence fragment. I have to go to the dentist soon, and I’m afraid I’ll get the ping of a mean email.
Suzanne Moore - May 10, 2021 12:48 pm
I am behind you 100%, Sean. I do have many years of experience as a high school and college English teacher. I also know that you are a master communicator. As such, I judge you to be very highly qualified to do what you do. Perhaps that woman should just shut up. Do I hear any amens?
Lauren D Ulrich - May 10, 2021 1:12 pm
Amen, amen, and amen~
Liz Watkins - May 10, 2021 4:09 pm
AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN
Gay - May 10, 2021 12:50 pm
Preciate ch’a Sean.❤️
Barbara Shields - May 10, 2021 12:51 pm
Most English teachers are wannabe authors who can’t get published. You, on the other hand, are a bright, shining star in this world of darkness. I look forward to reading anything you share with us.
Hawk - May 10, 2021 12:56 pm
I was having a conversation with a mother and adult daughter one day. One mentioned that she saw a billboard {bill-board, bill board??} with a misspelled word. The other excitedly mentioned she had noticed it too {also?}. One mentioned she had called the billboard company about the “error”. The kicker??? The other laughed and said she had done the same thing. I asked them a simple and obvious question. “Don’t you think that was the point behind the “error? Now you know what the ad said, and you will remember the company’s name.” Having an empathetic character would solve most human enter-actions. The English language is a tool that, when used by a master, can heal a damaged heart more gently than any heart surgeon or critiquing reader. I started to write critiquing ninny, but granny taught me to be nice.
Liz Watkins - May 10, 2021 4:11 pm
Wow HAWK!! Thanks for that explanation! Makes 💯 % sense!
Suzi - May 10, 2021 12:59 pm
“Birds of a feather flock together”, this lady should seek prose elsewhere!
Keep on keeping’ it real Sean!!!
Brenda of Sean’s fan club - May 10, 2021 1:02 pm
Would someone anyone tell me how miserable a person must be to read (continually) a column they don’t appreciate AND be so negative about it when it brings lighthearted cheer to so many in a not-so-cheerful world
OH this can’t be grammatically correct cause I ain’t got no punctuation so here
:;,.””’?????
Terry Holloway - May 10, 2021 1:02 pm
As a USDA certified redneck in 2 states, I read your post every day for real life stories not for grammatically correct sentences. Please keep righting.
Judy Tayloe - May 10, 2021 1:07 pm
BAN! You rock, Sean!
Judy Tayloe - May 10, 2021 1:09 pm
Bam! You Rock, Sean!
Dean - May 10, 2021 1:08 pm
I don’t read your column for the way you write but for what you write. It make my day brighter.
Please keep writing and take the criticism with a grain of salt.
alisonbaird765 - May 10, 2021 1:08 pm
We rednecks preciate ya!
Kim - May 10, 2021 1:10 pm
I know you know correct grammar and punctuation! Your columns would not be the same if they were written as a thesis. What I like about your writing is that it flows like a conversation. Sometimes prepositions just HAVE to be placed at the end of a sentence and sometimes sentence fragments are all that makes sense when you’re talking with your friends. Please , though, don’t confuse your and you’re or I will have to be the grammar popo. 🤣
Substance is much better than correctness.
Lauren D Ulrich - May 10, 2021 1:10 pm
Why, I ask myself, does this person continue to read your columns if she’s so “offended” by your use of language? (A rhetorical question, to be sure.) I’m a long-time English teacher as well, and I find GREAT JOY in the way you use language–it’s authentic, and I often marvel at the way you make it possible to “hear” you just through the written word! You’re my daily smile, laugh and–frequently–tears. Thank you~
Gale Smith - May 10, 2021 1:11 pm
One of the smartest people I ever knew was a college English teacher. He believed spoken and written communication was best done in ways that “reached” the audience. He read a theme I wrote to a class and one young man criticized my use of “aint.” He told him it fit the dialog, then added that I had not made a mistake, I had done it purposely….had taken literary license. He said
“Once you know the rules, you are allowed to break them.”
Sean, it is obvious to me that you know the rules.
You choose to write in the vernacular your readers
understand. You are Sean of the South, and this is how we Southerners speak in our everyday lives. We can dress it up when we deliver a eulogy or introduce our guests of honor, but once we go home, we slip into our comfortable clothes and lingo. You speak our language, Sean. We “get” it. That is the main goal of communication.
Leesa - May 10, 2021 4:58 pm
Gale, you said it so well! Thank you.
Melanie - May 10, 2021 1:11 pm
Was that lady for real? Lord have mercy with all the wrong there is in this world she’s on you about your grammar…😕 well we’ll do the right thing and smile, give her a hug and bless her heart.
Karen Holderman - May 10, 2021 1:15 pm
You nailed it.
Morton Vice - May 10, 2021 1:17 pm
Many people wake up to criticize and judge. It’s a way of trying survive. Life is beautiful thing when you look through life with love and kindness…
Cassie Levy - May 10, 2021 1:21 pm
I agree that she was missing the point. It reminds me of when my brother, a pastor, was speaking to a group in Israel. Afterwards, another pastor told him his English was terrible. My brother had 2 Masters Degrees and a PhD and he knew how to speak and write correctly, but he often tailored his comments to his audience and that meant not using 50 dollar words or worrying whether every sentence was grammatically correct. Perhaps the English teacher needs to confine her reading to only those columnists who meet her high standards.
MermaidGrammy - May 10, 2021 1:28 pm
I’m so sorry that someone lucky enough to have access to your wonderful words has the temerity to take up space with such foolishness. Like everyone else, I love your words. I love your heart. She’s just an old poop
Rich Owen - May 10, 2021 1:29 pm
For people like this, I just say: Remember when you point your finger at someone, you have three more pointing back at YOU!”
Patricia Schmaltz - May 10, 2021 1:29 pm
Mrs. Sunshine has no heart.. and I question her soul. PLEASE stay you! Yes, if we all used Grammarly.. and ate nothing but vanilla wafers (I’m not talking about the banana pudding requirement)… then we’d all be better off. NOT! BTW.. I have some GREAT dentists here in Fort Walton if you are in the market for implants.
Leigh Amiot - May 10, 2021 1:32 pm
I’ll give Mrs. Sunshine a small break since her reference, newspapers, are an all but obsolete product. If I had to pigeonhole you (and that never works, humans are too complex) I’d call you a hybrid columnist/blogger, and you’ve likely had published and sold more books than the frustrated Mrs. Sunshine. Armchair psychology, I know, but she could blog, too, if she would instead of getting worked up about your work. You certainly inspire me to write. Thank you!
Rev. Dr. Dennis Stalvey, aka preacherdennisthestoryteller.com - May 10, 2021 1:32 pm
Colloquial col•lo•qui•al kə-lō′kwē-əl
The definition of colloquial refers to words or expressions used conversationally in ordinary language by common people (for understanding of common people see Statesmen Quartet Big Chief James Wetherington’s recitation of The Common Man): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSZLAt82lNc
Colloquialism is casual conversation where some slang terms are used and where no attempt is made at being formal. From a sociological viewpoint, colloquial also takes into consideration linguistics, which is a manner of speaking or writing characteristic of familiar conversation. It takes exceptional skill to write conversationally incorporating the geographic surroundings and local dialects. In other words, if one writes colloquially, he/she is depicting the language of the common folk and the way they understand each other. When Sean writes conversationally it reminds me of when I used to sit on my grandpa’s porch with all the men of the area talking over the affairs of the community. If English Teacher is going to be authentic, a few classes of Sociology explaining the ways and dialect of the common people would be in order. Too many people try to be an expert on a subject, but only on the parts they like to pontificate leaving out the important reasons people speak the way people speak. Which is to say, grammatically they ain’t far from the kingdom!
Suzanne Cahill - May 10, 2021 1:34 pm
Well said! Thank you for the morning laugh.
Kay Britton - May 10, 2021 1:47 pm
That. Was. Great!
Rhonda Williams - May 10, 2021 1:50 pm
Sean, you are fluent in speakin’ and writin’ Southern! Lewis Grizzard would be so PROUD!! That gives such rich character to your colorful post! I am assuming that the “Buzz-kill” who criticized your work doesn’t have a column! The poor gal obviously doesn’t understand the joyful part of life! You totally do!! If she doesn’t like the post, she doesn’t have to read it! Yet, she feels compelled to tear down your uplifting efforts with her negativity and her toxic perspective! How Sad! She has issues! You have no way of knowing how many people are helped each day by your encouraging words! Thanks for blessing us by sharing your wonderful gift of writing!
Dave Compton - May 10, 2021 1:51 pm
Thank you, thank you, thank you for showing restraint in this column, as many of us would have placed your new friend on a proverbial skewer and slow roasted her. I chuckle (and often shed a tear or two) when reading most of your columns (wait, did I call it a column? Making you a columnist??), but on this particular one I did, indeed, laugh out loud. Thanks for that.
Phil (Brown Marlin) - May 10, 2021 1:56 pm
Sean, you’ve got to be kidding about that e-mail. Who would write such a degrading message? Not even my high school English teacher, who taught me so much, was a stickler for correct grammar, and who (whom?) I still revere, would stoop so low. I was in her class in 9th grade; then, lo and behold, I had her again in 12th grade, or she had me, whatever. She was fabulous, one of those teachers you give blue ribbons to in your memories. She was hard, but fair. When she came through the receiving line at my wedding reception (she taught my wife, too), I couldn’t help but quote Coleridge, “O wedding guest, this soul hath been alone on a wide, wide sea.” She burst out in laughter, but didn’t correct any of my possibly misstated lines.
To the nitpicky lady who wrote to you, be she fictional or not, I say, “You are right to teach correct grammar in your classes, but Sean is not one of your students, so lighten up!”
Eddy - May 10, 2021 2:01 pm
B A M !!👍👍
Tina Montalbano - May 10, 2021 2:11 pm
Absolutely LOVE this article (or is it artical)…
Tupelodan - May 10, 2021 2:20 pm
Hey, Sean:
I spent 30 years in the newspaper business, including 27 as a columnist. I also doubled as an editor for many years. You’re a columnist, buddy, and I’ll guarantee you one thing: if the grumpy old teacher had said something like that to Miss Emma’s face she might have been the one in the dentist chair.
Chasity Davis Ritter - May 10, 2021 2:23 pm
I know people can frustrate you when they send negative emails but if you actually read our comments on here you would know far more people think your writing is amazing and look forward to it everyday as our own form of personal happiness. Forget the nay sayers Horses nay (neigh?) too and they’re just horses asses too. Love you Sean!
Jenny - May 10, 2021 2:34 pm
❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️🥰 perfect response to the grammar nazi !
My grammar stinks and soooooo what !
My patients at the hospital don’t mind a bit because they are feeling loved, cared for
And safe . Jenny
William R Thompson - May 10, 2021 2:36 pm
When growing up in Alabama, I took 2 years of Latin from Mrs. Olivia Fines. It served me well as work took me to Western Europe quite often. But I also learned the importance of diagramming sentences from Mrs Daffron’s English class. My wife and I love Italy and these gifted educators helped us understand other languages and I am forever in their debt. It is odd that so many American media persons ignore simple English. Things like “with her and I” or “I could care less”. On the caring continuum, how much less COULD you care? Too often, media personnel do not recognize the difference between a noun and the object of a preposition. So, that is my take. I am a retired engineer and an ALUMNUS of the University of Alabama
Everyday reader - May 10, 2021 2:36 pm
Wonder how many people wake up in the morning who can’t wait to see what she has written? Gotta be a she. Sometimes I wake up before your article has posted. THAT is a real downer!
willybearden - May 10, 2021 2:39 pm
Tell it, Sean.
Annak - May 10, 2021 2:49 pm
There’s always that “one” whose greatest pleasure in life is to try to feel smug and superior by attempting to bring someone else down. I am truly sad for her and all like her if she misses the heart and soul in your writing in order to find something to criticize. Thank you for the blessing that you are, just as you are.
Kathie J Kerr - May 10, 2021 2:49 pm
Remind people that self syndicated writers like you don’t have editors to pour over your work everyday. I used to work with those writers and editors and believe me even the best ones messed up and needed their editors. And since newspapers are going the way of the dinosaurs, and syndication is about as likely to pick up new writers as I am to lose weight, we are stuck with bloggers who write from the heart.
Lynda Gayle Knight - May 10, 2021 3:06 pm
Love your reply, Sean! I taught high school English for 30 years, and I wouldn’t ever try to get you to change your style(common folks) or your name(columnist)! I look forward every day to your column arriving. You open up a world of thoughts for me. You remind me every day of how human each of us are and should be. If the communication between two individuals is there, what difference do the capitals, commas and construction make? Besides, who requires her to read your columns if they bother her? Tell her to read Anne or Emma or even better, a great philosophical writer who might meet her standard! I prefer reading about real life and real people like the pictures you paint❣️
Bex - May 10, 2021 3:09 pm
Sean, you are my favorite columnist! I pay more attention to the excellent content than grammar…..
‘Ain’t nobody but sad, lonely people’ got time for that!’ Keep writing and thank you for making us think, reflect and be thankful for being alive! I know
my punctuation isn’t great!!!!!! : )
Arelene Mack - May 10, 2021 3:16 pm
Dear Sean – I have been a professional grantwriter since 1993 and an avid reader my entire life. I love reading your musings because you do so much more than get it right – you communicate with your readers. Communication is so much more important than getting the technical aspects written to perfection. Thank you and keep up the good work.
Cheryl McWilliams - May 10, 2021 3:17 pm
You are much to gracious (or is that gracias). I see grammatical errors, often, when I am reading a book by a best-selling author (or is that Arthur). I just correct it, in my mind, and go on and enjoy the book. I don’t think I have ever noticed a problem with your grammar but that could be because I am a Southerner and we just don’t worry so damned much about the little things! Poor guy. He craves attention, doesn’t he?
Cheryl Buchanan - May 10, 2021 3:26 pm
You know, sometimes you just “gotta” write from the heart.
I’m an English teacher and love teaching grammar, but your writing just makes everything seem OK in this crazy world.
Keep it up!
Karen Peters - May 10, 2021 3:27 pm
I LOVE this !!!
Belinda McCormick - May 10, 2021 3:31 pm
I loved this column. Put her in her place.
Kemie Brown-Vansant - May 10, 2021 3:42 pm
Sorry I called you out in an earlier column. I was nice about it, but I feel sad and humbled. You are awesome.
Linda F Buchanan - May 10, 2021 3:44 pm
Love your columns and your grammar! Keep writing!
Charline Kirk - May 10, 2021 3:49 pm
Bless her heart. I, too, taught English and would never be a bully to anyone’s writing. Not my job anymore. I grew up digging ditches and working the land, but ended up “educated” by shear determination. I prefer the company of fellow worker bees than the degreed people.
courtney r - May 10, 2021 3:50 pm
well said…. my friend!
Bob - May 10, 2021 3:55 pm
Good for you!! Worry about being nice and not so much about being right… Love it!
Marlene Willis - May 10, 2021 4:00 pm
Ha Ha, I am also a retired English teacher. I am not the grammar police. I may personally cringe at grammar mistakes by those who should know better, but my motto is “If it communicates, it works.” I know. That is a scandalous attitude for a retired English teacher. Keep writing your humorous and touching column. I thank you for doing it. My husband who could neither read nor write often left me messages of I luv u.
Linda Holmes - May 10, 2021 4:03 pm
Hilarious! She needs to get a life.
Pat D. - May 10, 2021 4:04 pm
Maybe this teacher should retire.
She has lost her communication skills.
But it seems like she probably never had any
Your stories are great.
Us “regular people” really enjoy a good story!
Keep writing in you entertaining style!
Patricia Gibson - May 10, 2021 4:09 pm
Sean, this lady should be pitied as true scholars will tell you communication is the key. By the way I have a Masters in Education and you communicate very well💜💜
cajuntiger74 - May 10, 2021 4:12 pm
This is one of you’re best. (intentional substitution of you’re for your)
GrandNetta - May 10, 2021 4:17 pm
As a retired high school English teacher of 44 years, who could spark all KINDS of fear with a RED PEN traversing an “interstate” of grammatical, linguistic, punctuation, and capitalization errors, I find — or perhaps I should say “found” for the “purists” out there; but actually, no matter how many times I read your clever and entertaining article in rebut of the “English expert’s” critique, I will ALWAYS FIND it amusing AND a bit stifling; therefore, I am sticking with the present “find” for my statement!
YOU ROCK, SEAN!!
Hope - May 10, 2021 4:18 pm
Go Sean! I read somewhere that people criticize most in others what they like least in themselves. Did you find any grammatical errors in her email? Please keep writing, I personally have not read anything you’ve written that I would consider irrelevant, sub-par or grammatically incorrect. You write like you speak. Reading your columns is like having a conversation with you and I enjoy that very much.
Melinda - May 10, 2021 4:21 pm
I have been a newspaper editor for 45 years. (I also have an English minor listed on my college degree.) A “column” gives the writer quite a bit of freedom, unlike a news article. You can write in fragments if you choose to. (And yes, I did end that sentence with a preposition; it’s perfectly acceptable.)
Linda Chapman - May 10, 2021 4:28 pm
I love you, Sean! Keep writing! And I know you will continue to respond in kindness to those who criticize you….that’s one of the things I love about you!
GrandNetta - May 10, 2021 4:31 pm
As a retired high school English teacher of 44 years, my RED PEN and I have traversed MANY MILES on the Interstate Highway of incorrect grammar, misspelled words, punctuation errors, and myriad other egregious “shortcomings” in writing. I have former students who write and who are published … IF they ask for my edits, I am happy and honored to assist them. HOWEVER, I have NEVER corrected them publicly, NOR WOULD I! Your writing is fresh, emotional, and REAL … it reflects the South (which I LOVE) and it reflects humanity (which I find fascinating)! DO NOT CHANGE ANY PART OF YOUR WRITTEN VOICE FOR ANY ONE! If I find an author I don’t enjoy reading, I simply avoid reading that person. Your recent “Grammar Sheriff” should take a lesson from ALL THE OTHERS who have commented in your defense!
(I hope this post publishes. It is my second attempt. Parts of my original were better than this one -in my humble opinion- and parts of this one are better, making it “tit for tatt” as my favorite English teacher was often wont to say!)
Leesa - May 10, 2021 4:48 pm
Dear Sean,
You are so much kinder than I would/could have been. Your writings are full of reflection, humor, empathy, kindness and love for others. I’ll take one of you over a dozen grammar police any day. My growing collection of your books proves that. And, my returning to favorites of your columns. Perhaps the “gp” should unsubscribe. Don’t let the turkeys get you down, Sean. We love you! To Ms. Sunshine: Lighten Up, Buttercup. Life is short.
Janellen - May 10, 2021 5:05 pm
I love you just the way you are, a reflection of most of the world… and I love that! Hugs
johnallenberry - May 10, 2021 5:16 pm
Yer Right! It might help a few things when I tell you that in my third graduate program (Tech Writing Certification) my linguistics prof told me something that rattled me to the bone and broke my little English Prof heart. She said, and I quote: “Good grammar is any grammar that communicates meaning.” It’s true. Grammar was designed solely to standardize what is and is not the language. It’s a ballpark and so long as you’re in ‘ere, you’re ah’ ‘ight.
If folks go and start demanding complete and unswerving adherence to the rules of grammar, Mark Twain, Eudora Welty, Zora Neale Hurston, and a whole lotta other folks are gonna find themselves out of work… well, out of the canon anyway.
Dialect and creative usage of grammar are the flavor and color of the American idiom. Sitting around and complaining about how grammar isn’t pristine is like getting mad about how Monet’s images are kinda fuzzy!
She’s got a problem? She can go read a grammar book instead. Who is she to tell you whether or not you’re a columnist? Sheesh!
I’m a college English Teacher, and I say yer writin’s jest fine!
PhDude
Sheri K - May 10, 2021 5:17 pm
All I can say is “OUCH”!!! Way to go Sean!!
Karen - May 10, 2021 5:20 pm
The o lu thing better than reading your response was reading all the readers’ responses 😉 Haters gonna hate! You are the best in my book, and I am also a past teacher.
Karen - May 10, 2021 5:21 pm
“Only”
johnallenberry - May 10, 2021 5:22 pm
Yer doin’ gud, Sean. ‘preciate ya.
Christina - May 10, 2021 5:24 pm
Like it or not, you are our columnist.
Linda Moon - May 10, 2021 5:25 pm
I taught English. Your writing does NOT make me cringe. But Mrs. Sunshine’s suggestions did. Was Granddaddy from somewhere about 100 miles north of Columbiana? There’s lots of English-and/or-chicken-butchering in north Alabama…so, just wondering. My nice family said “Luv y’all” a lot yesterday on Mother’s Day while we were out in “The Pit”….built by family guys who were neither English majors nor construction professionals. ‘Preciate cha, Columnist!
Faye Hutt - May 10, 2021 5:29 pm
Dear Sean, whenever I read your column, I’ve always thought you were speaking to me and only me. Imagine my surprise and chagrin to find out there is a lot more than just me. Your words leave all kinds of amazing feelings in their wake. Pity Ms. Sunshine. She leaves empty words and feelings behind. Your words reach into our heart and our very soul! I’ll be forever grateful.
Glenda Busby-Fowler - May 10, 2021 5:31 pm
Strange that Mrs. Sunshine should write this. Although I am not an English teacher, I pride myself and the use of the English language due to many years of education in this area. I have made mental notes MANY times while reading your column at how I have never seen you stumble over proper English or the spelling thereof. So many extremely educated people still cannot use the proper “their, there or they’re” “me or I’ you, you’re, your……well, I could go on and on. And, I know your background, you live near I a city where I had vacation property (PCBeach Florida). Most folks from the south and especially the Gulf Coast area speak “southern” English, which is chock full of mistakes. I have actually marveled at how well your English was!! But, even if you did use improper English, it takes a real jerk to point it out. I’m sure Mrs. Sunshine has absolutely no faults which gives her all rights to criticize you (even though she is wrong, you are an exceptional columnist and writer.) Oh, one more thing to Mrs. Sunshine. Bless Your Heart, Sweetie!!
Wadena - May 10, 2021 5:35 pm
Love the response. My Mother was a reading specialist and would never have thought to be that rude and egotistical!
Susan Parker - May 10, 2021 5:47 pm
Sean!!!! Epic response to her shiny plaque of an opinion. EPIC!
Ann Syfert - May 10, 2021 5:54 pm
Oh, Sean!!! Please read and take into your sweet heart all the comments here. Let all the love from your grateful readers drown out Mrs. Sunshine’s hateful words. I post your COLUMN everyday on Facebook because I want all my friends to love you like I do. And I do love you to the moon and back. Your words make me laugh and cry and most of all, think. You are the best!!! Don’t ever, ever doubt it!!!!
Bkr - May 10, 2021 5:57 pm
Love it!! You are totally awesome!!
lynda - May 10, 2021 5:57 pm
Love you Sean. Love your columns. Read them every day. I must be back woods because I don’t have any problems with what you say. I talk and write just like you! I get it. You make me laugh, you make me cry. You break my heart. You bring back good memories along with some bad.
P.S. I’m sure if you wrote with “perfect” words, I highly suspect no one would believe your stories.
Jenny Young - May 10, 2021 6:50 pm
Maybe Get-an-editor really thought she/he was being nice? I tried so hard to get rid of my Appalachian mountain accent & slang when I went to college…what a waste of time & energy. And now, goodness I miss hearing it. Maybe I need to hang out in some diners but I’d need to travel a fer piece to find one with the voices I love.
Katie Schweiss - May 10, 2021 7:01 pm
OMG I almost wet myself! As a former English teacher/writer whose English teacher grandmother used to send my letters back with red ink all over them, I applaud you, sir, for your restraint and tongue-in-cheek graciousness! I doubt I would enjoy your writing half as much if your goal was to cater to the grammar police. Continue to butcher the language all you want – we’ll just call it poetic license!
MAM - May 10, 2021 7:12 pm
Jus’ keep keepin’ on, Sean. You’re doin’ jus’ fine! I consider myself a grammar nerd, but I’ve never had trouble with your writing, because it’s from the heart and soul of you. It’s jus’ plain good ol’ storytelling.’ I can write proper grammar, but as my first college English teacher wrote on my first essay: “Your grammar and spelling are 1,000% better than the average freshman, but you have nothing to say.” Wow, now that hurt! So I have chosen to let other people speak and I interview them and use their words to convey what they said. I envy your talent, Sean!
Trudy W Locke - May 10, 2021 7:18 pm
Well done!
Bob E - May 10, 2021 7:27 pm
My dearest Mr Sean – don’t stop watcher doin’.
And God bless every word, phrase, sentence, paragraph and COLUMN you columnize.
Your devoted column readers love you syntaxically.
lindadmiresean - May 10, 2021 7:45 pm
From the daughter of a former English teacher…..Spot on, Sean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Karen - May 10, 2021 7:54 pm
If you change a thing about how you write I will not be reading anymore. You are you and we live the way you write. Don’t change a thing. Please.
Trudy - May 10, 2021 7:55 pm
I am a retired English teacher (no, not “here we go again”). Miss Picky Oonee, would have driven the country kids I taught, nutz!!! There is a charm in colloquial dialect and common usage of English. Not all understand the sophisticated, plus-perfect English. Keep writing the way you do, Sean. It takes me right back to my Southern roots and holler-ese.
Sarah Wangler - May 10, 2021 8:03 pm
Brilliant!!
Rebecca Souders - May 10, 2021 8:31 pm
Good one!
Katherine - May 10, 2021 8:55 pm
Can’t stop laughing at the VERY large number of comments written by your loving, adoring fans. Never mess with Sean. He has an Army that loves him.
Iris Hamlin - May 10, 2021 9:11 pm
You splained it just how it shoulda been splunged.
Russell Moulton - May 10, 2021 9:40 pm
Her dentist is a gastronomic genius!
Robert - May 10, 2021 10:33 pm
Sean, I love your column. Keep up the great work … your wit is fantastic!
Barbara Foley - May 10, 2021 11:39 pm
I love your response to the Grammar Police!! Thanks for always making my day.
Vincent ( Royce ) Nettles - May 10, 2021 11:42 pm
Dear Sean,
I am not making this a beat up on English Teacher response but my 9th grade English Teacher loved to completely humiliate me in front of the entire class. Once I a did a report on the state of Utah. I made the mistake of shaping my U to look like a V. She chose mine to read aloud and every time the name Utah came up she would read Vootah and oh you should have heard the laughter to follow. Needless to say my love of writing or reading died…that is until one day my dear mother clipped and mailed me a clipping of one of your stories. The story of your of dear father teaching you to ride a bike. “Don’t go left”. I laughed, I cried and from that moment on I was hooked on reading. I read all of your stories and now I can’t stay out of the library. I’ve been buying books from Hemingway, Clancy and my recent find a leather bound copy of “ To Kill a Mockingbird”. Guess what I’m saying is THANK YOU for reopening this area of my life.
Sincerely,
Royce
Delphia Smith - May 11, 2021 12:13 am
I don’t care about your English. I enjoy your stories and I can make them out just the way you write them. I also know your dentist because I live in Chelsea. Keep writing I read ever word and love the commercials too.
Karen - May 11, 2021 1:34 am
So nicely putting her in her place!! Love your stories just like they are. Thank you for all you do.
Susan Kennedy - May 11, 2021 2:42 am
Ya done good on this one Sean!! 😉
chrisswain3 - May 11, 2021 2:49 am
If everyone lit just one little candle what a bright world this would be
chrisswain3 - May 11, 2021 2:51 am
And if you are hungry does it matter how you butter your bread?
Norma Den - May 11, 2021 7:42 am
Oh my, what a laugh. I too had an English teacher who still haunts me to this day many years later, may her scary soul rest in peace/piece. Take heart, your columns give so much joy to so many, so let that grouchy Mrs Sunshine go correct grammar wherever she lands up. When I look at reviews of books on Kindle there are so many who seem to concentrate on spelling & grammar, I think they miss the point of the story or book they’re reading. Go for it Sean, keep on making us smile or even shed a tear. We love you..
Crysti - May 11, 2021 12:01 pm
Hi Sean,
If what Maya Angelou said is true . . .
“Ive learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
. . . then which of you is the winner?
Your Fan,
Crysti
Cele - May 11, 2021 1:24 pm
Dear Sean, I, too, love your reply to GET-AN-EDITOR. There are writers who ask for grammar advice. I’d like to encourage GET-AN-EDITOR to save her advice for those people. And if your grammar bothers her so much, why does she continue to read your column that the rest of us enjoy daily? This is AMERICA, and no one is forcing her to read it.
Cynthia - May 11, 2021 2:26 pm
All I can say, Sean, is that I would have hated to sit under her teaching with that kind of attitude. It’s one thing to give constructive criticism. But it’s a totally different thing to be mean and hateful about it. Mean and hateful does not a good teacher make.
muthahun - May 11, 2021 3:09 pm
There’s a proper (or should I say, “very improper”?) two word response to this person. Good on ya, mate, for not printing it. Live long and prosper, Sean. You make people feel… a very good thing.
Mack Hollaway - May 11, 2021 3:29 pm
I loved how you slapped the grammar police woman without raising your hand. Could be I read it wrong? It was funny anyway.
Darrell Dame - May 11, 2021 4:29 pm
Those who can do, those who can’t teach. A quote I heard many years ago.
Helen De Prima - May 11, 2021 5:32 pm
As someone who edges close to being a grammar nazi, I loved your take-down. Keep telling it like (as) it is.
Lauren Lopez - May 11, 2021 11:47 pm
‘Preciate yore writin’, Sean!! Simply amazin’!
joseybell - May 12, 2021 12:15 pm
Great response! It must be tiring to always be right. There’s quite a few like her on Facebook.
Cheryl Andrews - May 12, 2021 2:44 pm
Oh, brother! Sean, you are an awesome COLUMNIST! Now I am good about spotting and hearing grammatical errors, but I am guilty as well being grammatically incorrect. So just say “My bad” and go on writing!!!.
Crabby - May 12, 2021 2:37 pm
LOL! You nailed it! Boy howdy did you roast her!! Thanks for the laughs today!
Mary Anne Brannon - May 12, 2021 4:57 pm
Sean, use the English language any way you wish…..I’m a former English teacher, also, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the vernacular used in expressive, meaningful ways. Keep on keepin’ on! BTW, you can write the great American novel however you see fit!
Gail - May 12, 2021 6:24 pm
Love it! Let’s all play nice!
Hawk - May 12, 2021 7:38 pm
I have never experienced this many comments on one of Sean’s columns. YES!!! Be nice and have grace.
Michael - May 13, 2021 2:40 pm
Bingo!
Paul Galloway - May 13, 2021 4:07 pm
My lovely wife helps me every year clean the ditch behind our house.
Gwynn - May 13, 2021 5:41 pm
Hers are just the sort of comments that keep would-be writers from writing.
Rita M Hill - May 13, 2021 10:42 pm
You can slice and dice participles all you want to….your clever repartee is most refreshing.
Kathy - May 13, 2021 10:55 pm
Here, here!
Nedra Tucker - May 14, 2021 12:39 am
Well played Sean! Well played!
Bo Berg - May 16, 2021 3:14 am
Well I’m not an English teacher and apparently not cut out to ever be one, I haven’t noticed an error in your column once!