My favourite colour is purple.
I'm a ninth-generation Kentuckian.
I have worked at Shriners for twenty-five years.
I used to be a librarian.
My middle name means butterfly.
This is a good conversation starter and I get a lot of enquiries about the length of time my family (the Cobb side) have been here (1790, given land for fighting in the Revolution), or asking what my middle name is.
The other day I was asked if I were British. Because of the 'u' in favourite, of course.
I'm not, or Canadian, or Australian. But I've used International Standard English since I was in my late teens or early twenties. I read a lot of British writing, for one, but when it comes down to it, I prefer the older spellings and consider them more correct. When Noah Webster and Melvil Dewey (originally Melville Dewey) decided to simplify American English spelling, I think they did the language a disservice. Yes, I'm not a Dewey fan, even though I'm a librarian. And there are more reasons to not like him, so you may want to look them up.
Anyway, the mom confessed to me that she still uses correct English in texts, and I said I did too, even though younger people seem to think this is rude, I couldn't bring myself not to use full words and correct punctuation. We agreed that good grammar was more important. And that's when she said the thing I loved so much.
'Correct grammar is the thing that separates us from the animals--that and opposable thumbs.'
It's so nice to meet a kindred soul in your daily wanderings.
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