I think that the question mark is the most important form of punctuation there is. This is because it invites conversation. It also indicates that the speaker doesn’t have an or all the answers and is willing to listen. Indeed,

Moire effect

good listeners are rare. I’ll bet that those who ask questions are more inquisitive than most.

Now there are emoticons – single images in which the writer (usually on email or in a text) clarifies how they feel about a certain issue. The smiley and frowny faces are two that I know of. I figure that if someone can’t articulate what they are trying to communicate and instead attempt to tell me via an emoticon, that they aren’t worth dealing with. This is why the number of people who I communicate with is minimal.

But the question mark – it’s usually at the end of sentence and is very unobtrusive. I actually like those who use question marks because I know that my response matters to them.

I considered writing my dissertation on this subject. And the title would have been:
?
It would not be too late to write a book on this subject. Now watch, in the next few weeks I’m going to see that at least a half dozen writers have already done this. I haven’t come across any of their books because they did a good job, meaning that readers want to hold onto their work.

I’m not sure what I’ll say about the question mark. It’s an instance in which I am going to have do what Donald Murray suggested and write for surprise.

Speaking of which – today I was at the Wasilla Museum, checking out one of our bookcases. Pete stocked it a few weeks ago and Milena, who was with us, is now going to be the bookcase guardian, that is the individual who will make sure that the bookcase is well stocked.

Pete and Milena were talking with the two curators, so I wandered off and checked out the most recent exhibit. It centered around the composing process of writers. To this end the exhibit showed the process of several children’s book artists. They had the rough draft and finished products. I, because I’m not an artist, had never thought about how the artwork in a book comes into being. Missing, the composing process of the writer. I would of course liked to have seen the combined early collaborative effort.

I will most definitely go back and take a look at this exhibit again.

Maybe there could be a children’s book entitled: ? The first line of the book, spoken by a parent, would be, son or daughter, why do you ask so many questions? The child would then reply, “why are you asking me this?” The child would then run away, and on his/her journey, would travel with a question mark. They would speak to one another in questions, and they would ask others’ questions. This would be in search of an answer, which never materializes.

There. It’s very easy to be imaginative.

Next: 138. 5/20/22: Time and Time Again