I just finished “Millie’s Honor” which was written by Neal Powers, a member of my graduating class from Fulton (MO) High School. I bought the book and read it in anticipation of my class reunion in a couple of weeks – not only do I want Neal to autograph the book for me but I want to be able to share with him my enthusiasm for his writing.
Neal’s inspiration for this book came from conversations held at our last reunion in 2003. While the setting is in the fictional town of Raleigh, the references to locations and events in Fulton are obvious to anyone who was there during the time covered in this novel. I recalled only too vividly my first brush with suicide and remembered fondly the innocence that growing up in a small town in the late 50′s and early 60′s afforded me.
The fictional Millie is an English teacher whose slogan is “Grammar matters. It proves you’re educated.” While I don’t recall having an English teacher who stated those exact words, they were implied by both Edith Dean (sophomore English) and Marjorie Backalar (senior English). Grammar was a given in those days – you learned it, you used it correctly, end of discussion.
I became a member of the Grammar Police – a position I extended to both of my daughters. That’s why I wasn’t surprised that Tammy sent me a link today to a wonderful blog that extols the lack of good grammar in our world. It’s a great site with superb examples of people to whom grammar obviously doesn’t matter. Read and enjoy!
That blog is awesome – I just subscribed, and can so relate to it. I remember taking a photo with my phone’s camera in Wal-Mart when I saw a baby shirt that read, “my grandma loves me alot.” ARRRRRGH!!!! Two words – how hard is it to remember “a lot” is two words! I’ll have to find the photo to submit it.
Okay, so I remembered wrong, it was “I make alot of noise” – but I found the photo and am sending it on!