Anything goes today

Carol Tiffin James of Ellsworth is definitely not alone in her concern for the deterioration of grammar and spelling. There are still many of us who avidly collect James J. Kilpatrick’s columns on language (which, unfortunately don’t yet run in this newspaper), still see the relevance of spelling bees and, at least figuratively, edit signs and menus wherever we go.

Those who use words as tools in their profession, writers and sign painters for example, should be as careful with their craft as a woodworker is when meticulously fitting moldings or creating a beautiful piece of furniture. The writer’s product, after all, may last even longer than the carpenter’s.

With a little more care we can avoid embarrassing gaffes like the one in front of our own Earle C. McGraw School, where the signs proclaim, “busses only.” What an example for our kids!

Ann Calderwood

Hampden