Discovery

I must say, there are few things that generate a feeling of inner delight more than discovering something. Christopher Columbus, for example, must have been absolutely thrilled when he discovered a new land after sailing across "the ocean blue" for months with no idea where exactly he and his crew were heading. (Never mind that this so-called "new land" already had inhabitants.) And it was downright cute to see the expression of self-importance on the face of President Trump when he announced recently that no one ever knew that health care was so complicated. (Again, never mind that tons of folks did, in fact, know that.)

I recently made a discovery that has been known by thousands of men and women. It is a gem of a book called "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Lynne Truss. This thoroughly enjoyable book was released in 2003 and was a huge best-seller. To me, however, it was unknown. But now that is no longer the case, I wish to share my "discovery" with any one and everyone because this highly readable work by Truss is worth being checked-out by as many others as possible. The focus of the book is punctuation and its significant contribution to that equally-significant form of communication called writing. Do not let the topic fool you, this book is very enjoyable.

How one punctuates a sentence dictates its meaning and is often the deciding factor of whether what they have written is properly understood, according to Truss. In driving home this point, the author focuses on such important communication tools as commas, apostrophes, dashes and semi-colons.  The way in which Truss does it is as fun as it is informative. I cannot think of anyone who would not benefit from giving this discovery of mine a thorough look-see. Truss tackles the topic of punctuation with the ferocity of a warrior, yet one with a giant twinkle in her eye. Her quest to defend punctuation deserves the support of us all. So, in announcing my "discovery," to all I say: "You are most welcome."