Grammar Hammer

Some random graffiti in a New York subway.

It just reminded me of the Disney made-for-tv movie The Girl Who Spelled Freedom.

A Cambodian girl is taken in by an American family.

They teach her how to use American toilets (prior to doing so, she stands on top of the toilet seat presumably dropping bombs Paul Tibbets-style) and how to read, write, and speak in English.

She uses the acquired knowledge to become spelling bee champion of the world.

It's inspiring and heartwarming, especially because it's based on a true story.

I think, though, that I was a bigger fan of A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story.

Said tv-movie tells the tale of Mary Thomas, a single mother raising a gaggle of children in the slums of Chicago. One of them is destined to become Detroit Pistons point guard and New York Knick sexual harasser Isiah Thomas.

That I can admit that I really enjoyed Mary Thomas's triumph over struggle in story form is pretty significant. Isiah Thomas and the wretched Pistons were the dirty, ignoble brutes that prevented (at one time) the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls from advancing to the NBA Finals.

My favorite scene is when Ms. Thomas is explaining to her kids, in light of her eldest son having left and gotten into some criminal dealings, the importance of sticking together. She pulls a single match out of a box of matches and easily snaps it in half. Then, she takes a bunch of matches and tries to break them only to find that she can't - thus, illustrating the strength found in numbers rather than individuals.

The name "Isiah," by the way, is a misspelling / unique variation of "Isaiah." I had a teacher in high school who was a bit peeved by the spelling of Isiah Thomas's name. He damn near ranted about it.

He also wasn't a fan of Jehovah's Witnesses, not so much because of their different tact of worship and lifestyle (he was a Catholic priest) as much as he believed that "Jehovah" was a kind of corruption of the name Yahweh (or YHWH).

In Latin (from what I remember), Y / J / I were somewhat interchangeable, as was V & W. Also, Latin pretty much did without vowels (in written form). So, you can see how "YHWH" could become "Jehovah."

It should probably be "Never submit to anyone but yourself," but we all get the idea.