Friday, December 08, 2017

Love. Period.

I flew to Boston earlier this week, an early evening flight so I could hit the ground running for a talk on Wednesday.  We were held on the ground at Philly, after a long taxi out to the edges of the airport.  It felt like the pilot had decided to drive to Boston.  And truth be told, with the delay, elapsed time door to door was the same for the trip by plane or by car.

When we were finally at the gate in Boston, it took them some time to get the jetway open. (#waiting #Advent #amIright?)  The guy behind me was dictating a text to (I presume) his wife. "I am on my way to the hotel...period...I will get dinner and then call...period...love you...period."  The guy who had been in the middle seat next to me was rolling his eyes at this.  "Gotta have that punctuation," he muttered.

I, too, was musing about the punctuation.  He had the pacing down, so this was clearly his habit.  But love period.  What about "love you exclamation point"?

Would I be that stingy with punctuation to my spouse?  I hope not!

_______
How many exclamation points should you use? A delightful essay in The Atlantic.

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