Vive La Punctuation!

Remember when folks couldn't be troubled to learn where the colon or the ampersand are on the keyboard, or even what an ampersand is? Remember when all that punctuation was good for was introducing the idea of R-rated curse words into a G-rated environment? (Don't pretend you're too #@*& young to know what I'm talking about!) I've been thinking about how far punctuation has come in the last decade and trying to understand the joy that must be theirs, the Parentheses, the Backslash, every one of this ragtag group, as they've taken center stage in the digital age.

Can you imagine it? Playing second fiddle to A-Z your entire existence, hoping for some notice, and then suddenly! Wham! Hello spotlight! The war against the tyrannical Alphabet was, of course, led by the @ and its comrade in arms, the . You wouldn't be reading this blog without @ and . ! Take that, home-row keys! Fighting alongside them, the Colon rocks us through every day, a vital part of messages written by those who favor emoticons. The lowly Colon! Once simply the gateway between a sentence and other thoughts, and now, we can barely express ourselves (without expressing ourselves) without one!

And let's not forget: Alligator Mouth. Back in the day, Alligator Mouth's only stalking ground was the swampy green of the elementary school chalkboard as we all learned which number was greater than. No longer. When the Punctuation Revolution took off, Alligator Mouth leapt off the chalkboard with the awe-inspiring alacrity of his species to chomp his way through every romantic missive sent via email (or text or IM or FB or G+). And his favorite number, it turns out, isn't always the biggest. We can't free others without freeing ourselves and Alligator Mouth, having been called to duty so many times by asterisk-crossed lovers, has found the freedom to express himself at last, to admit that his true love isn't always greater than. Like most of us, Alligator Mouth's truest love is, well, just right. Alligator Mouth loves 3. He adores 3 so much that he holds back his hunger, reins in his instinct, is content to gaze fondly at her through his eyeteeth. Who doesn't get misty when they look at this tableau? An homage to knightly restraint?

How about you? Any amorous reptiles sneaking into your emails? Are there situations when you use emoticons and others when you strictly do not? Are there emoticons you love or hate or love to hate? Emoticons aside, which is your very favorite mark of punctuation?

– Tupelo

Photo by Flickr user KM&G-Morris