- I DU: For the Crown Prince of Japan's nuptials last Wednesday, I composed a little Haiku (OK, more of a "Low Ku"). It was the least I could do:
The emperor handpicked the bed,
The empress picked the bedding,
Nobody was going to stop
The prince's Sho-Gun wedding.
- POUR GRAMMAR: We journalists have our pet peeves about language. William B. Smart, former editor of the Deseret News, would spit nails when reporters wrote "pouring over documents" instead of "poring over documents." ("What were they `pouring,' maple syrup?" he once scribbled in the margin of my story.)
Susan Lyman-Whitney shakes her head when high school kids write "Your a good friend" in their yearbooks instead of "You're a good friend"; and I've personally seen copy editors throw hand grenades at writers who use "it's" as a possessive instead of "its."
And I'm only human. Not only have I committed all those errors, I get irrationally annoyed when people write "Edgar Allen Poe" instead of "Edgar Allan Poe." Maybe it's (its?) because I've poured (pored?) over "The Gold Bug" so many times.
- APPLES AND ORANGES ON THE FAMILY TREE: I've been working on a series of pieces that treat members of our family tree as if they were actually aspects of a real tree (clever, we Brigham boys).
Since Mother's Day is over and Father's Day is still a week away, I declare today Brother's Day, and offer this tidbit:
Brother Dave is 42 and lives in Utah.
Brother Val is 37 and lives in Hawaii.
Brother Dave is "fruto," Spanish for "fruit that remains attached to the tree."
Brother Val is "fruta," Spanish for "fruit that exists apart from the tree.
Dave lives in his hands.
Val lives in his head.
Dave likes putting things together.
Val likes taking things apart.
Dave thinks "The Wind in the Willows" is about the willows.
Val thinks it is about the wind.
Dave is a sturdy branch in all strong winds.
Val is a sturdy branch trying to scrape against the clouds.