Write Your Own Epitaph Day

Yesterday, November 2nd was Write Your Own Epitaph day.

Did that one slip past you?
Why wait for your heirs to inscribe your stone? You can save them the hassle and get exactly what you want.

Take examples of from John Yeast, who said on his tombstone...Pardon me for not rising.

What quirky, fun, serious, or creative phrase would you put on your stone?

When I was a professional photographer, I used to tell folks I would have "Just One More" put on my tombstone because I was always saying that to my clients.

A young Ben Franklin once penned a proposed epitaph for himself. It is lyrical and amusing, but never actually used. That's too bad because I like it a lot.

The body of B. Franklin, Printer

(Like the Cover of an Old Book

Its Contents torn Out

And Stript of its Lettering and Gilding)

Lies Here, Food for Worms.

But, the Work shall not be Lost;

For it will (as he Believ'd)

Appear once More

In a New and More Elegant Edition

Revised and Corrected By the Author.

Happy National Punctuation Day!

According to the paper, today is National Punctuation Day! Take an exclamation point out for a spin!!!!!!!!! Over-use commas. Be definite with periods. Celebrate all things punctual.

Try reading some older books. I find it challenging to read aloud books from the 1800's or even the early 1900's. Too many semi-colons and loooooonnnnnnnggg sentences and not enough periods. I don't know when to breathe!

The very earliest manuscripts of the Bible have no punctuation, from what I understand. No paragraph or chapter breaks. No periods, commas, or semi-colons. Imagine reading with no stop or yield signs on the page. Different.

One of my all time favorite traffic signs in Europe is the exclamation point. Designed to be multi-lingual, the exclamation point sign gets across its message of 'Pay ATTENTION' without using words at all.

Write poetry without punctuation today. Or prose for that matter. Put an exclamation mark on the refrigerator as a reminder to pay attention or create a bit of excitement in your life. Pretend there's a comma in front of you and pause for a creative moment. Quote someone and make little quote marks in the air with your fingers. Have fun.

Speaking of fun and punctuation (and believe me, Mrs. K, my high school English teacher wouldn't believe *I* would put such words together...) a terrific book about punctuation is 'Eats, Shoots, and Leaves.' While I live by 'Shrunk and White's Elements of Style,' Eats, Shoots, and Leaves is funny. Lots of British wit involved.

Have fun today.

Period.