While I’m hiking The Long Trail, I’m reposting old favorites. This one originally published October 22, 2013.

The English language on word order depends.

If that sentence doesn’t convince you, try this:

Take the adverb “only” and place it in different positions in the following sentence.

He said, “I love you.” (Nice thought.)

Only he said, “I love you.” (No one else said it.)

He only said, “I love you.” (He said nothing else.)

He said, “Only I love you.” (No one else does.)

He said, “I love only you.” (He doesn’t love any one else.)

He said, “I love you only.” (His love is exclusive.)

In The Elements of Style, Strunk and White advise that “Modifiers should come, if possible, next to the word they modify.” When modifiers are misplaced, the result is always  ambiguity – and often hilarity as well. Consider this Classified Ad:…

‘There’, ‘their’, or ’they’re’? ‘Your’, or ‘you’re’? ‘To’, ‘too’, or ‘two’? The English language must be a nightmare to learn!.

Elements of agriculture and the food industry have been at war with healthy lifestyles for decades.

For example, on one side there is the fast-food, sugar, soda, meat and dairy industry motivated by profit. On the other side, we have the PCRM, who supports healthy lifestyle choices.

I recently read about one of the battles in this food-health war at Yahoo’s Shine Foods. I have no idea how long Yahoo will leave this link active, because Yahoo—curse their stingy RAM policies—usually deletes what they publish after a few days or weeks probably to save space so they don’t have to buy more RAM.

Here’s the headline and link for the Yahoo Shine Foods piece: McDonald’s McDouble: Cheapest, Most Nutritious Food in History? No Way

I think: some brain-dead idiot named Kyle Smith [inspired by another brain-dead idiot who has a podcast through Freakonomics] wrote a column for…

After I heard we had to dissect the body of a cat in tenth grade biology class, I requested to take a replacement course instead. Today many school districts are sensitive to this issue and students can opt out without creating a stir. But back in 1971, school administrators at my Michigan school had never heard of a college-track student requesting to skip the foundation of high school science classes—and all over a dead cat. (How and Why the cat would die wasn’t divulged). Although they were surprised by my request, they allowed me to switch over to a course called Earth Science, but the only connection it had with its name was interminable dullness like dirt.

At fifteen I saw the world through a lens like a microscope and never from the top of a cliff. My father often said, “You can’t see beyond your own nose. It’s the…

I have a suggestion: Take the KOBO pledge. I plan to.

It’s easy to support an independent bookstore because hundreds are participating in KOBO’s e-reading program.  All you have to do us buy a Kobo e-reader and then click on the following link to contact an individual indie bookstore that is participating in the program close to where you live to discover the details.

List of Indie bookstores that belong to the Kobo e-reading program

For example, in California, I counted fifty-six bookstores. Then I clicked on Green Apple Books in San Francisco—I’ve been there and enjoy browsing and shopping at this indie bookstore that has a unique character of its own. In addition, Green Apple is in one of San Francisco’s three China towns—a fun place to eat and shop.

Here’s what Green Apple Books says, “We’ve partnered with Kobo to bring you eBooks and eReaders, so that…

Sharon Higgins of Oakland, California, is a hero of public education.

As a parent of children in the local public schools, Higgins was upset by the Broad Foundation’s takeover of her district. One Broad superintendent after another made decisions without consulting anyone who lived in the community.

Then, with the encouragement of the Broad superintendents, charter schools began opening, drawing students and funding away from the public schools.

Sharon Higgins did what she could. She started a website to report on what was happening. One part of her website is devoted to following the mis-steps of Broad superintendents. Another part of her website catalogues “charter school scandals.”

She has taken great interest in the Gulen charter movement.

She has no funding. She is a public school parent who wants the public to know what is happening and to know who is making decisions that affect their lives and their children…