The much-maligned adverb is in need of a defender, and I have decided to step up to fulfill that role. Bad writers have abused the poor word group almost to extinction, and people who don’t understand grammar or writing — or the history of either — have supported the adverb’s banishment from modern writing. However, […]
When I was 20, I cast my first presidential vote for Al Gore. We all know how that turned out. My frustrations were primarily directed at the Supreme Court and the people who actually voted for Bush. While I didn’t understand the appeal of Nader then, I had friends who voted for him, and it […]
I love to read. Really. I swear I do. Yet lately, I’ve become so picky. When I was a kid, I’d go to the library and check out thirty books at a time, devouring Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, the Baby-Sitters Club and R. L. Stein. I used to “sleep” with my door open and […]