Punctuation is a very important thing. It is the difference between a sign saying "Slow, Children at play" and one that says there are slow children playing. Or in the case of today's title, the difference between telling your grandfather to slow down his eating or telling others we are about to take our time-consuming our patriarchal family member. This morning I am grappling with a major life choice that needs an answer soon (even if that answer is to wait). My mini-epiphany this morning was to cut the grass. For the uninitiated, we can solve the problems of the world while doing yard work, though the solutions disappear once we turn off the equipment. Thinking I might find the answer I went out into the yard.
The answer was elusive. A nest of yellow jackets proved to be much less elusive.
I have been stung before and I know that more than 2 had to have gotten me (the second was when I snuck up on the nest an plunked a wooden stake in it to mark it for later). However, two stings are swollen and smarting still an hour later. One is in my knee, the other my right, ring finger making it hard to hold things or to type o, l, or a period. Had this happened to the pinky finger, I would finally have an excuse for not using the semicolon and continuing my long-standing practice of coma splices.
