Review: First Stage of Being in the Club

Becoming a mother doesn't start on that final push, it starts with preparation. And giving birth is only the beginning of the wondrous adventure. As with Nature, maternity and motherhood comes in stages: there's the time of flirtation, getting attention and attraction, inviting a touch or visit that leads to fertilization. And then the miracles that happen during gestation.

"In the Club" is a mini series aired on KCET. It allows us to visit the lives of six women who become acquainted with one another because of a prenatal class they attend together. With a major life issue in common and regular visits filled with learning and sharing, they form a bond, even a friendship, with one another. Their partners become part of that friendship.

One by one, we learn about each woman and her circumstances. We learn about her partner and their living circumstances. With each episode we get drawn into the intrigue of what will happen next and whether the characters will be able to work through the challenges they face.

At first blush, it would seem that it's merely a story about six bloated women who will ultimately go through a time of screaming and groaning and exposing their bottom to the world so that they may receive a slimy, wriggly, wailing newborn. Well, we do go through all of that but there's more to each of the six stories.

One woman discovers, at 37 weeks, that she's expecting twins. An hour later, she discovers that her husband was fired five months before but never told her. Their car has been repossessed, they are in arrears on their house payments, they have two adopted children who are very much a part of the parents' lives, and Mom has been blithely going about preparing a nursery that the family cannot afford. The final straw comes when Dad takes the children for pizza after school but can't pay the bill. His solution is to feign being a terrorist and robbing a bank.

There is also the older woman who became pregnant by a lover who is 25 years her junior and has a lot of maturing that needs to be done before he'll be ready to become a responsible father. Meanwhile, Mom is going through a torrid divorce from a resentful husband and even more resentful adult children.

The unwed teen has been hiding her pregnancy from her widowed long-haul driver father. She's been resourceful enough to rent tapes about childbirth but she has no clue about what's happening to her. Housekeeping skills have not been part of her maturation agenda. She stumbles into the class in full labor. Meanwhile, her dad has fallen asleep at the wheel and suffered a serious injury. The teen and hre baby's after care become a major issue.

The young Indian couple are having their ups and downs. It doesn't help that she claims she became pregnant while they were honeymooning. She confides to one of her friends that she's not really in love with her husband but he's a good man. Tensions rise when her doctor questions why her ankles are so swollen this much in advance of her due date. Complications arise not only with her pregnancy but also with determining the paternity of her baby.

The lesbian couple are going through the strains of living out of the closet with the teenage son of the non-gestating partner. The ex-husband is also the father of the the coming life. What is ultimately revealed is that the pregnancy was not started by in vitro fertilization and the couple are falling in love with one another.

And then there's the prenatal class instructor, a nurse, who is expecting the child of her boss, the OB/GYN for the women in the class.

Yes, it's a bit of a soap opera scenario. The thing of it is, the story is well written. You don't get bored with weekly screaming and grunting sessions. It's the intricacies of each story that pull the attention. It's the tension that mounts causing the viewer to wonder what will happen next. The writers make the audience try to anticipate how the challenges will be resolved and ask their own selves how they would handle each one or whether they would be able to do so.

The writers succeed in making this a story of diversity in a unique way. Each mother faces a unique situation. There are different social issues at play, different ethnicities represented, different economic circumstances. Even the children pose non-traditional challenges that wouldn't be expected in a traditional family drama.

For example, one of the fraternal twins was a successful birth. But his sister had a difficult time and will be a special-needs baby. Those twins are special to their adopted older siblings. As far as those two are concerned, they are a family of six, all special and all equally loved. The teen son is going through rage and hate for his mother now that she's come out. He's abusive and disrespectful. Getting him to curb his behavior toward her is not the responsibility of her partner nor her ex-husband. Although she's good at being demanding, it's at the wrong time and her aggressive behavior is directed at the wrong person.

The story winds the audience into its telling but there's a bit of a snag there. This is a story premised on six expecting women. Those pregnancies are the primary basis of the show. It's not feasible to have the same six women having a new pregnancy year after year. So how will the series perpetuate itself? Perhaps by morphing into a story about raising children. That friendship bond can only last so long when lives become disparate because of disparate circumstances.

Spoiler alert: This show only lasted for one season.

The good things about it are the acting, the writing, the symbolism. It makes for some good conversation about dealing with Life circumstances and how many options we actually have. It's eye opening to consider Life outside of our circumstances in order to safely consider how long we should stay on a particular path before taking a turn onto another road that may get us to our destination in a more comfortable or safer manner.

Even though it's a brief indulgence, it's worth making friends with these women and becoming involved with their lives. We learn that maternity is only the beginning of the story.

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Review: Writer in a New Land

Public Broadcast Stations (PBS) are airing a few new week night series. It's a mixed bag of drama, light comedy, situational comedy, mystery, and whodunits. These are in addition to the weekend Masterpiece dramas.

One of the new series, 800 Words, seems to pick up on a theme from the Masterpiece story, Durrells in Corfu. There we were told the 1930s story of the newly widowed English woman and her four children who left England in search of a more affordable existence in a small village in a Greek island. Her eldest embarks on a career as an author.

With 800 Words, the story is modified. It's a contemporary Australian widower, George Turner, who transplants to a small town in New Zealand with his two teenagers. Each day is a new adventure of errors and calamities. The family learns the house they thought they were moving into is not the ideal abode. Instead, it's more than a fixer-upper. It's a disaster that is barely tolerable - and then gets worse. Then the boat with all of their furniture and belongings sinks. The family is left to quite literally rough it as they learn about the island, the people, the customs, and survival in a new place.

Now in a new place with offspring who need to be cared for, George needs to earn a living. He finds a job as the local newspaper columnist and journalist. Somehow, that job pays for the family's most immediate needs and affords George the ability to pay for the numerous repairs for the house and the car. While the teenagers go through their form of grieving and trying to make sense of this new life, we learn about Dad as he works through his own battles through his weekly column that has a word count limit of 800 words - thus the name of the series. He speaks to us, and the village, through his column. He philosophizes. He learns. He discloses.

The story is made more endearing because it's situated in a very small town on an idyllic island. Needless to say, everyone knows everyone else. Gossip is the mainstay. People pitch in to help one another. Spontaneous housewarmings happen. Scandals come; scandals go. Peace abides as Life shifts and existence spins its way into a new day and new situations.

We go through the maturation process with the teens. It's easy to recognize that the story is authored by a man. The older daughter seems a bit more mature for her years than we would expect of a 16 year old. She is also not shy about speaking her mind to anyone, whether adult or peer. The younger son is learning about claiming territory and where he fits into the pecking order of the land. But he is also learning about his voice and he uses his voice and sophistication to work through the various situations that confront him.

Both of the youth are very sophisticated and philosophical. They make the viewer wonder what type of woman Mum was and what type of parenting was happening before the transplant occurred.

When George isn't writing, he's negotiating his way through existence as he goes through his own form of release from grieving. He attempts to reclaim the precious days of his youth when he longed to surf the New Zealand waters. Now approaching middle age, he realizes that may be more of a daydream than something that will be attained but it creates an occasional respite and an opportunity to meet more of the neighbors and become one with the land. He wants to fit in and he wants his family to be accepted by the locals. After all, they're going to live there for the rest of their lives.

Like the petals of a flower that slowly peel away from the bud, so the knowledge about the transplanted family comes to life in the series and we're drawn into the drama of life in a new place. We laugh at the double-handed doses Life dishes out in the form of tragedies that morph into moments of laughter that make it all the sweeter to be in Weld. We begin to yearn for that simpler time when Life was much more mellow in spite of what seems like chaos.

Perhaps the chaos is merely the unpredictable nature of living one day into the next. It's all a surprise and an exercise in a type of game of survival. In this idyllic setting, the threats and dangers are sparse. It's a relief to believe that type of existence can happen both in the past for the Durrells and in the present for the Turners.

If only more of us were as articulate so that we would paint word pictures for others to savor while we surf through our days.

Sponsored Links:

• 800 Words: Season 1
  
• 800 Words: Season 2, Part 2
  
• The Garden of the Gods (The Corfu Trilogy Book 3)
  

First Impressions

I love this blurb from an American Management Association promotional email. It highlights the reasons why using a proofreading and copy editing service is so important:

Troubleshoot Writing Errors That Make You Look Bad

Every time you send an email or submit a report, you are being judged on your writing skills. Business writing errors (even simple grammatical mistakes) can complicate your message, confuse your readers, cost you money, diminish your professional image, and hold you back in your career.

There are many instances when the writer's message attempts to convey the level of expertise they have to offer. Were it not for the grammatical and spelling errors in their written message (the ones that the reader is willing to overlook because the logic is very sound), the advances the author could be realizing could dramatically increase. It's a heartbreaking situation.

For example, it may be possible that the author of this content wasn't able to afford the time for an additional copy edit before publishing it. Or maybe they were simply so motivated to get the content published, were pressed for time, and had a lot of confidence in what existed that they felt there was no need for an additional read-through.

Cash – obviously if you can make a sale that’s revenue for your company. One example of this would be a facility that sells monthly memberships.

Attention and Trust – now they’re lots of businesses that need this. For example: I’m going to watch channel 6 news tonight. Well, I’m not paying them cash. I’m giving them attention and trust, in which they can figure out how to make money through advertising.

Referral – Does your service or product work better when your friends use it too? Krispy Kreme uses the revenue of referral. Everytime they open up a new location, employees start giving away thousands of donuts. The people most likely show up for a free hot donut are those who have heard the legend of Krispy Kreme and are delighted that the company is finally in town. These people spread the word. They tell their friends and even bring them into a store.

Imagine the fan's disappointment when they read this excerpt and sincerely want to recommend the author to colleagues:

"The problem with this approach is if you think everyone that breaths is your ideal customer chances are you’ll spend money in the wrong media channels and time at the wrong events or on the wrong platforms, wasting your greatest resources of time and money."

or here when they find the stupendous advice that's laced with a few problems with the use of articles, such as:

"The typical bland response for many is to say . . . “I’m in the cleaning business, I’m an consultant, I’m a plumbing contractor or I’m a account specialist.”"

Then there are the writers who allow their spell checker to dominate their proofreading. Unfortunately, the spell checker is simply an automated system that doesn't really pay attention to context. So the printed version of the speech may sound right but it talks about the person who "lead" the throngs or the one who "new" all of the facts. And there's the classic where the reporter wrote about their interview with a South African artist who shared with comfort she derives from going back to the "crawl" to escape from the rigors of touring and being in the entertainment industry.

A grammatical issue makes the speaker seem to be in charge but the copy editor is wincing when they read this sentence: "Let's look at it another way. Do you care to listen to people whom you dislike?"

It's a good idea to use at least a proofreader for a quick review of the copy before it's published. Yes, the pressures of being first to speak are there. Yes, there are other issues happening that are demanding your attention and attempting to tear you away from that precious item to be pushed out to the world (literally).

Perhaps life would be better if instead of a one-time, gig-style service, a retained copy editor (or just a proofreading service) would be the answer. No doubt a reduced, continuous service rate could be worked out that would provide a more satisfactory result for all involved. After all, the real goal of the writing is reaching a destination that represents success for the writer / speaker. So it just makes sense to have the end result be an enduring positive first impression.

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Historic Controversies

There is a renewed interest in the author, James Baldwin these days. One of the reasons for this may be that his birthday is August 2.

However, there is a lot to be said about the gay Black author. He wrote about topics that were exotic to a 1950s and '60s audience. He explored heterosexual relationships between people who were of different racial backgrounds and sexual identities. He considered whether these relationships could survive in a Jim Crow culture where segregation and discrimination was the way of the land, where homosexuality was only whispered about in smoke-filled cocktail party room of predominantly comprised of the Beat crowd and university thinkers. But that, in and of itself, was a distinction because few Black writers were able to rise to having the status of having their works and theories form the basis of serious discourse.

He dared to speak of the rejection of the Black native son and portray his position in a society that allowed travel on one of two paths while ignoring all the others. And, like Richard Wright, Baldwin attempted to explain the psychology of existence and moral standards of one racial group compared with another.

Perhaps Baldwin's friendship with archaeologist Margaret Mead explains some of his essays and the depths into which he went with his analyses of his subjects and the critical acclaim he gained because of his willingness to explore these topics with the reading world. When we compare some of the titles of his works to those of Richard Wright, the critical-thinking reader will ponder to what extent Wright influenced Baldwin's voice.

And here we are, more than a half century since he emerged in the literary world, now daring to include black characters on both the large and small screen who go about their lives in all walks of life, without restraints, because the diversity and inclusion conversation was doing little toward moving us forward in the realm of diversity and acceptance in reality.

Perhaps this birthday will be the one where the resurgence in interest will be the one that also encourages the lowering of the barriers to outright acceptance and nurtures consideration and inclusion based on actual ability without regard to genetics.

Resources:

• Margaret Mead and James Baldwin on Identity, Race, the Immigrant Experience, and Why the “Melting Pot” Is a Problematic Metaphor
  
• Brain Pickings
  
• “First Friend”
  
• 25 Powerful Quotes From James Baldwin To Feed Your Soul
  
• In memoriam | Remembering Sedat Pakay 1945 - 2016
  
• Catching Up to James Baldwin
  
• Trapped Inside James Baldwin
  
• Richard Wright, Biography.com: Poet, Author, Journalist (1908–1960)
  

Sponsored Links:

• James Baldwin : Collected Essays : Notes of a Native Son / Nobody Knows My Name / The Fire Next Time / No Name in the Street / The Devil Finds Work / Other Essays (Library of America)
  
• A Rap on Race
  
• Black Boy: A Record of Childhood and Youth
  

Critique: Still Star-Crossed

It's been a goal to write a review/critique of the TV series "Still Star Crossed" since it first aired. That is still my goal. It's one thing to watch an adaptation of a classic. It's yet another to view the sequel not anticipated by the original author, complete with 21st Century modifications for inclusiveness. How closely the after story follows the conventions of the times is worth at least a viewing or few.

When it first aired, it was one of the Summer substitutes for the Shondaland empire on Thursday nights. That was interrupted when the air dates started changing in deference to things such as awards shows, sports specials, TV reality contests, and other madness. Then the show air dates started moving. Initially, it followed episodes of "The Bachelorette." That changed. It showed up again on a Sunday night then eclipsed itself only to reappear on a Saturday night - in conflict with KCET's dramas and PBS's Masterpiece Mysteries.

At this point, it isn't clear whether it's supposed to be a weekly Summer show or just a filler until the Fall season starts. It appears the series is going to suffer a slow death. Thus, a good review/critique may be a postmortem.

In the meantime, here are a few observations about "Still Star-Crossed."

It's the next chapter of the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet, penned by the bard, Shakespeare. Perhaps that's why the Italian families speak with extremely British accents.

There's nothing to explain why the royal families are so diverse. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that Italy is so close to Morocco and the northern areas of Africa. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the remains of Beachy Head Woman of British archaeology was originally from a sub-Saharan country and who could have been the wife or mistress of merchant. At any rate, the awareness of Beachy Head Lady lends credence to the array of colors of the Veronese and Venetian aristocracy portrayed in the series.

Much of the story line has a "Scandal" feel with regard to the intrigue the hangs like a heavy cloud over the characters. But that was also the signature intrigue unique to the bard in many of his dramas. Richly colored costumes (that have a certain color scheme for particular characters) are very accurate for the time. There's a very limited view of the common life that should be part of the population. The story feels like we're watching a period-based soap opera. But it's well executed, which is one of the reasons for my frustration when it isn't aired on the expected day and time.

It was a bit difficult to take when Lady Rosalind ran off astride a horse instead of side saddle with Lord Benvolio. There were reasons why ladies rode side saddle. But there were also women who broke with traditions and were brazen and bold and rode cross saddle. It appears she was among them. (Right on, ladies!)

Which brings me to the roles of the women in this series. Were they truly involved in the various maneuverings of political plans and schemes or were they merely window dressing for their husbands? Theory has it that the former was true. Although there could have been strategic pillow talk, it was not uncommon for there to be his and hers bedrooms. Is it really possible that the women of rank from the House of Escalus could fall to being servants and then rise again to being considered aristocracy? Is that, perhaps, how the stardust of Liberty was sprinkled onto the subconscious of the masses? (wink)

For the time being, the series can be viewed on Saturday evenings. Find episodes and show dates here. [I just found it while attempting to learn whether it's still being aired.] Each episode can be viewed on Amazon.com for $1.99 per episode. The episodes are exciting and very close to a Dumas novel.

So there you have it. A review of the show that isn't a postmortem.

Resources:

• Face Of ‘Beachy Head Lady’ Revealed, Roman Era Woman Is A ‘Fantastic Discovery’
  
• The 1,800-year-old face of 'Beachy Head Lady' is revealed for the first time thanks to 3D scanning
  
• Characters in Romeo and Juliet (from Wikipedia)
  
• A (Not So) Short History of Women Riding Astride
  
• Women in the [Italian] Renaissance
  
• Gender Roles of Women in the Renaissance
  
• The Place of Women in Renaissance Italy and Women's Opportunities for Making a Life of their Own
  
• Images of ladies of the renaissance who became servants
  
• Alexandre Dumas
  

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• Women of the Renaissance (Women in Culture and Society)
  
• Alexandre Dumas: Père; His Life and Works (Classic Reprint)
  

Proofreading and Attention to Detail - Spam or Scam

Many times documents are created but the finishing touches aren't added. Most of the time the reason for the lack of attention to detail is because the writing is simply a reminder to self or a quick note to a friend. Those are instances when the errant misspelling or incorrect punctuation can be forgiven. Additionally, the circulation is negligible, if any at all.

But there are communications such as business letters, proposals, articles and blog posts intended for generating new business, and even term papers (not to mention books), that demand attention to detail. The typos, misused words, and so on, detract from one's credibility.

Lately a large amount of spam and scam mail has been reaching my mailboxes. Much of it presents itself as emanating from a legitimate source. Well, that comes into question when reading the message starts. Here is one example. I've added proofreader comments as we move through the text so that all of us can benefit from this exercise. Please also note that this post is made with the assumption that the name of the person at the end of the message is fictitious although the intent of the message becomes clear by the end.

Sent: Sunday, June 25, 2017 11:38 PM
Subject: <<<< [brackets should not precede the content of the subject line]From U.S. Department of the Treasury [The name of the agency sending the message will not be in the subject line. The subject line denotes what the message is about.]

Attention:

Your credit payment file have been [should read "has been"] added and opened,[This should be a period followed by a space to start the new sentence. ]We received an email from Mr Fred Atkinson [titles that are abbreviations such as "Mr.", "Ms.", "Mrs.", or "Dr." are followed by a period to show they are abbreviations.] today that you had an accident and died in the act.. [only one period at the end of a sentence.]
Mr [title] Fred Atkinson claim [should read "claims"] to be your lawyer and he is ready to claim your funds related to your compensation funds of $500,000.00 (five hundred thousand United State Dollars [the amount should be initial capitals; the name of the nation is plural]) that has been with us for three months now which you refuse to claim. he has also agreed to pay the fund release charges of US$460 [consistency of reference].

So we write to confirm if you are DEAD OR ALIVE, [punctuation] if [first word of a sentence is capitalized] you fail to reply back within 48hrs [space between number and word; "hrs" should be spelled out], We [improper use of a pronoun as a proper noun] will assume that what Mr Fred Atkinson said about you is right so we have no other alternative than to believe that you are truly dead according to Mr Fred Atkinson . [no space between last word of the sentence and the closing punctuation]

After 48hrs of no response from you, We [improper use of pronoun] will start the transfer and the delivery of your funds to your next of kin account which he claim to be [parenthetical phrase should be set off by a comma; end of sentence should be closed with a period]

IF YOU ARE STILL ALIVE, YOU ARE ADVICE [wrong word] TO GET INTOUCH [should be two words] WITH US BY A REPLY ON [should be "by"; unclear] MAIL OR GIVE US A CALL AS FAST AS YOU CAN..my cell phone. [numerous errors: One period followed by a space; first word of a new sentence is capitalized; reference has changed from "plural pronoun to singular] +1 484-305-9864[end a sentence with a period before starting a new paragraph.]

Take note that Mr Fred Atkinson has agreed to pay for THE RELEASE CHARGES, if you refuse [punctuation; new sentence] to get back to us, am afraid [missing pronoun; improper verb] we shall give him the go ahead with the release chareges [spelling] payment and then the fund transfer will be made to his Name and Account [no initial caps].

NOTE: He has drop is ["dropped his"?] account details and his home address for delivery of the funds into his International [no initial cap] ATM card and he promise [tense] to make the neccessary [spelling] payment.We are writing to confirm if all he said was [tense] true because he want [tense] us to start the transfer ASAP [should be spelled out].

You are to send a scan [tense] copy of your driver's licence [this is the British spelling of the word that is used by an American government agency] or national ID [abbreviation improper] for proper confirmation.Please ,get back to us as soon as possible to know if we are to get Mr Fred Atkinson Arrested [lower case] for trying to claim your fund illegally.note that you have been given just 48hrs to get back to us .

fill the Information Below. [incorrect use of capitals]
Name:
Country:
House Address:
Occupation:
Phone Number:

We await your swift response in regard to this news we received from Mr.Fred Atkinson

U.S. Department of the Treasury
Sanusi Kayode.

In addition to the numerous composition errors, Mr. Kayode does not provide his title. His email message did not contain a reply address. And he does not indicate which Treasury office location is where he is located. The Treasury Department has at least one office in each state.

There are a number of ways to contact the Treasury Department by phone. Mr. Kayode's phone number doesn't seem to match any of the ones listed.

The Treasury Department also has a division that can be contacted to learn whether it is holding unclaimed federal funds for individuals. Their website can be searched. It should also be noted that each state has a department for unclaimed funds.

Incidentally, a lawyer does not have a right to a client's (current or past) unclaimed property. To claim the property would be a form of unjust enrichment. It isn't clear why Mr. Kayode is giving legal advice in his letter of notification. He does nothing to identify himself as a member of the legal staff in the Treasury Department.

After experiencing this correspondence, there are probably questions going through your mind about various forms of property, such as

• life insurance benefits
  
• real estate
  
• intellectual property rights
  
• tax refunds
  
• insurance overpayments
  

and other types of funds and properties. There is a page on Reference.com that provides many answers to these types of questions. We've meandered away from copy editing and proofreading but when your writer comes from many backgrounds and wears several hats, you get bonus information. No matter what, do your own research to confirm that the information is correct.

Resources:

• U.S. Department of the Treasury
  
• Contact Us - Treasury.gov
  
• How do you contact the government's U.S. Treasury Department directly?
  
• What is U.S. Treasury unclaimed money?
  
• Report Phone and Email Scams
  

Sponsored Links:

• The Unclaimed Property Resource Guide
  
• Examples & Explanations: Professional Responsibility
  
• Money Finders System: Because It's Your Money
  

All Muddled Up

There are those times when you're trying to dash something off on a social media site and in the back of your mind you sense that the word you're using isn't the right one. In the alternative, something tells you it isn't spelled properly - you're using the homonym for what you really want to say. But there you are trying to dash off a quick response to something. You ignore that instinct that I affectionately call "My Muse" and click Post. No going to Dictionary.com to check the spelling. No tolling the benefits of spell check. Auto-correct! Isn't that a four-letter word!?

So eight different instances of using the term in different posts (and a couple of other terms) that My Muse started nagging you about that are also generously sprinkled about your social media home (still without checking the spelling or usage of the terms), and

lo and behold!

You come upon all of them in a news headline - spelled correctly. And you've been telling people you have perfect spelling and are a quality proofreader. Would you like this plain paper bag to cover your head - and embarrassment?

In the alternative, you wrote it one way. Then you reasoned through whether that was the correct version of what you wanted to say. Let's say the word was about courage and fortitude. You know that sword metal needs to be tempered and tested. Does that, therefore, mean that the character's "metal" is being tested or is the character's "mettle" the subject of the passage. You go with "metal" because the result will be the strongest possible. It would be so much wiser to double check which spelling (thus, which word) is the one that should be used. Two days later you decide to double check. That's when you're reminded about the other homonyms, "medal", "metal", "mettle", and (just for good measure, "meddle"). Are you slapping your forehead with the palm of your hand? Here's an ice pack. Your face has a few blue marks and I don't think they're from an editor's - or copyeditor's, for that matter - pencil.

Maybe you can make an argument about the location of Briton and how it's related to Britain. (And we won't even get into whether either one is spelled with one "t" or two.) Of course, the person listening to the rationale won't tell you that one is a person from the region whereas the other is the region. They'll simply hand you a mental shovel as they walk away with that strange smirk on their face.

Their loss. They don't know about your sharp wit and mounds of awards for public speaking and debate.

Besides, there are all of those new words that are becoming part of our lexicon these days because of global language blending, colloquialisms, and idioms that allow all (global all) of us to speak in emoji and Twitter-speak. Remember those good old days? You know, the ones where we were scrambling to keep up with computerese? That time from the 1980s when computers were becoming every person's language as we evolved from "every man's" language.

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