Know the rules before riding away on your bicycle

A 76-year-old man was recently charged with driving a bicycle on a sidewalk after he was struck by a motorist. Can we assume that he knew it was called a sidewalk and not a sideride? Is this a question of a lack of knowledge or breaking the law knowingly? Should the motorist also be considered in this equation? Following the …

When your relationship with food is no longer healthy, get help

I don’t often read the advice column, but recently a headline of the Ask Amy column caught my eye: Anorexic worries parents by refusing treatment. The column was about a young adult “not ready to make a recovery from this disorder,” choosing anorexia as “the lifestyle I want right now” and tired of her parents’ “nagging.” The denial of the …

Credibility suffers when people use the wrong homophone

If I were Queen Elizabeth II, I would make my legacy a campaign reinforcing the importance of written communication skills, as “her” English is being mutilated daily. I’m not referring to the lack of eloquence, nor am I delving into dwindling vocabularies wrought with management-speak. Grammar is my focus today; specifically, my homophonia (or fear of the incorrect use of …