Dear Faldage,

And you were the one writing recently about how children learn English! It's all environment, not pretension, unless, of course, the environment is ridden with pretension, always a possibility.

Off a bit, I still can't understand why my father's sisters were always ants to me and my mother's, aunts. Both families came from southern Virginia, and there ain't much that's pretentious here.

And off a bit more, my daughter insists upon pronouncing either "EYE-thur." She picked that up years ago in middle school and it plumb (plum? still don't know) goes against my grain.

Best regards,
Ant Wordwind