National Punctuation Day
I realize that I missed the date by three full weeks, but I wanted to make note of National Punctuation Day, which promotes the proper use of punctuation and was celebrated this year on September 24. I often joke that my ability to spot most punctuation mistakes is a combination of genetics (both of my parents were very careful writers) and excellent English teachers during junior and senior high. In any case, the web site for National Punctuation Day gives helpful hints about how to use common and less-common punctuation marks. My punctuation pet peeve has always been the apostrophe, especially when it's misused to incorrectly make a word plural but instead makes it possessive. My favorite example was a sign on a tire store on Route 7 in Georgetown. For years it proclaimed "Buy Tire's Online," and for years it drove me nuts. What were we buying online for Tire? A new sign finally got it right, and I felt briefly disappointed. Closer to home, downtown Danbury used to be filled with fliers for the former hockey team, the Mad Hatters, which stated "Hockey at it's best" -- and which could have added "Punctuation at its worst!" In addition to the National Punctuation Day site, you can of course revisit Lynne Truss' former bestseller Eats, Shoots and Leaves to brush up on your punctuation marks.