Z is for Zydeco

Wow!  I did it!  Congratulations to all of you who are successfully completing the 2015 A to Z Challenge today!

I have a piece of flash fiction for you today.

Today's word: ZYDECO

I chose this word when I saw a clip of a zydeco band awhile back.  Enjoy!

Zydeco

The stars glimmered in the sky, and the multicolored lights gleamed like jewels around the patio.  Anna looked around as people danced all around her, men, women, and children in brilliant clothes swinging and laughing to the lively music.  The band stood on a stage, elevated above the crowd.  The wet heat of the Louisiana night had sweat beading on their brows and around their collars, but they continued to play without a care in the world.

“Hello there.”

Anna followed the smooth, deep voice to see Anton.  He was wearing a brilliant smile.

Returning the smile, she suddenly felt quite bold.  It might have been due in part of the glass of wine she just finished.  “Would you like to dance with me?”

It didn’t seem possible, but Anton’s smile grew.  “I thought you’d never ask.”

He grabbed her hand.  His palm was rough, and the heat of his touch had her heart competing with the rapid tempo of the music.

They danced and laughed, getting lost in the joyous crowd.

And yet, the highlight of the night wasn’t the music or the dancing or the food and drinks.  It was the good-night kiss that followed it all.

Y is for Yell

Here we are at the penultimate day of the A to Z Challenge!  Today I have a drabble for you.  A drabble is a story told in precisely 100 words.

Today's word: YELL

Enjoy!

Yell

The blissful calm of the beach was stunning.  Octavia took a deep breath, allowing the salty tang to fill her until she felt ready to burst.

Gentle ocean waves lapped at the grains of sand near her bare feet.  She dipped a toe in, and the chill sent an electric tingle through her body.  The orange glow of dawn made everything new with its enchanting light.

With a smile splitting her face nearly in two, Octavia leaned back and let out a good, hearty yell.  Not one of anger, but of exhilaration.  She simply couldn’t contain the joy she felt.

X is for Xenocracy

I have a Choose Your Own Adventure story for you today!  This is the last one for the A to Z Challenge.  These little things have been fun, but also challenging.  Then again, I think that's the point of this, isn't it?

Today's word is: XENOCRACY

A xenocracy is a government by composed of a body of foreigners.  I decided to go the alien invasion route with this one.

Enjoy!

Xenocracy

Life post-invasion isn’t all roses, sure, but you can at least say that you snagged a decent job.  Okay, people in the street call you a traitor and throw things at you, but the benefits are good.

Well, they’re tolerable, anyway.  And pre-invasion you wouldn’t have been excited about cleaning the toilets for the new seven-foot-tall, green skinned leaders of the xenocratic government that now rules all of Earth.  Considering the other jobs available, though, you’ll take what you can get.  Most days, at least.

Today, however, you are about to deliver some unpleasant news.  All of the toilets in the palace are overflowing, and you suspect it was sabotage of a most disgusting nature.

When you get to the throne room, the door is guarded by a formidable man.  “There is a meeting at this time,” he says in a stout tone.  “Whatever business you have, it must wait.”

A.)   If you decide to ignore him and insist that it is too urgent to wait, click HERE.

B.)   If you resign yourself to waiting, click HERE.

W is for Wanderer

Here we are!  It's the last week of the A to Z Challenge!  If you're struggling to keep going, you can take comfort, because you're almost there.

I have some flash fiction for you.

Today's word: WANDERER

Enjoy!

Wanderer

The wanderer came into our tiny town the same way he did once every couple of months.  He wore modest, non-remarkable clothes, but he was tall.  His presence was notable. 

Mr. Miller, the town barber, started keeping a record of when he came and how long he stayed, which was never more than a couple of days.  I never knew why some people in town eyed the wanderer with such suspicion.  He never hurt anyone that I was aware of, and though he never went out of his way to talk to anyone, he was polite enough.  When I was twelve, the wanderer and I accidentally bumped into one another on the corner of Main Street and Welsh Avenue, and he said “Excuse me, young lady” and went on his way.

The wanderer stopped in to the bank to do business, but Mrs. Carlisle was the only one who’d ever served him, and she took the confidentiality rules very seriously.  Even Mr. Carlisle knew nothing about the wanderer’s identity.

When I was twenty-one and home from college for the summer, the wanderer came again.  I learned about it through hearing the whispers at the local café.  People were speculating, and those speculations became more fantastical as time went on.  The prevailing opinion was that he was a con man who kept on the move so no one could catch him at his game.  Some thought he was a murderer that kept the money he stole from his victims at our bank.  Others guessed involvement in organized crime, or that he worked for the government. 

It fascinated me that such a mythos could develop around a single person, and I wondered why people just called him by the moniker “the wanderer” when there were countless other names they could have chosen.

The mystery was shattered the next day when the wanderer was found dead in an alley.  It soon came to light that a group of people in their late teens and early twenties had confronted him.  They demanded to know who he was and what he wanted.  They threatened him with knives and baseball bats, though they never got to use them.  The wanderer dropped dead of a heart attack first.

The family came that afternoon.  The wanderer had a family: a wife and two teenage kids.

He also had a name.  Ronald Alfred Winston.

Mrs. Carlisle was questioned, and it came out that she knew Ronald from childhood.  They’d dated during high school.  They were having an affair.

Scandalous on its own, perhaps, but only in the most ordinary way.  People talked for a short time afterwards, but it died down relatively quickly.  The mystery was more engaging than the reality.

V is for Veracity

Hello!  Here we are at the end of the last full week of the A to Z Challenge.  My, how the time has flown.

I have a piece of flash fiction for you today.

Today's word: VERACITY

Enjoy!

Veracity

People said they admired Toby’s veracity.

“That boy always tells the truth.  That kind of honesty is what we need in this world,” his grandmother once said.

He came to value the act of telling the truth more than anything else.  The truth will set you free, as the saying goes.

Over time, though, he started to get in trouble.  He told his mom her meatloaf was bland, and she wouldn’t speak to him for the rest of the evening.

He told his dad that he’d done a bad job on building the shelves.  They were somewhat crooked, after all.  His dad glared at him and responded. “Okay, then.  Let’s see you do better.”

Tommy didn’t do better.

He still wanted to be honest, but he also didn’t want to get in trouble.  Maybe it would help if he worked on his delivery.  Perhaps the addition of constructive criticism would soften the blow.

With that in mind, Tommy told his first girlfriend Gwendolyn that she wasn’t a good kisser, but he was sure she’d get better with practice.

The resulting slap-reddened cheek taught him a crucial lesson.

The truth might be valuable, but some things are best left unsaid.

U is for Uglify and Celebrate the Small Things

Today I have another drabble for all of you!  For those of you who don't know, a drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

Today's word: UGLIFY

Enjoy!

Uglify

It started with rage.

The call came and changed everything.  Danielle’s best friend Samantha was dead.  At 19, no less.  Nothing about it made sense.

The freshly painted white walls of Danielle’s bedroom, which had been finished only two days prior, stared back at her.  The cold indifference of them nurtured her fury, helped it to grow strong.

Pulling out her paints and brushes, she set out to tarnish the wall.  To uglify it.  Maybe she could make it resemble the outrage and heartbreak she felt on the inside.

For hours she worked, and a portrait of her loss remained.

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain.  TheCyborgMom and I are her co-hosts.

The weather here has been fluctuating between chilly and warm, but at least the general trend seems to show that spring is here.

We all have colds, but at least they're nothing worse than a nuisance.  None of the symptoms have impeded our lives in any way.

The A-Z Challenge will be over the next time we Celebrate the Small Things, so I'd like to celebrate that I've made it this far.  Hopefully next week I'll be celebrating a successful completion!

My writing is going well, so I'm happy about that!  In fact, after finishing this post, I'm going to get back to it!

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

T is for Tegestology

Today I have another Choose Your Own Adventure for you!

Today's word: TEGESTOLOGY

Tegestology is the collecting of cardboard beer coasters.  That seemed like an interesting hobby, so I needed to explore it further.

Enjoy!

Tegestology

You go to at least ten bars a week.  People tell you all the time that you have an addiction, and okay, you probably do, but at least it isn’t a harmful one.

This bar is a new one for you.  It’s located in the college district, so you imagine it’ll be filled with youthful energy.  You’re not necessarily the type to party, but it does feel nice to get out and relish in new company now and again.

You walk inside, and it’s packed full of young, scantily-clad bodies.  They barely register in your mind as you spot your prize: a stack of cardboard beer coasters on the corner of the bar.

Energized, you make a beeline for them, but the next thing you know, you’re in a heap on the sticky floor.

A.)   If you knocked into a person, click HERE.

B.)   If you tripped over an unseen chair, click HERE.

S is for Stories

Today I have a piece of flash fiction for all of you.

Today's word: STORIES

Enjoy!

Stories

Emmeline ran her work-roughened hands along the surface of the quilt covering her lap.  It told many stories, each patch having been contributed by a different member of her family over the generations.  The original patches were at the center of the quilt, at the heart of it.  Those central squares of fabric were so faded by the passage of time that Emmeline could hardly guess what the colors once were, let alone the patterns.

There was an unspoken understanding that each generation was expected to make their own contribution.  It was a sacred pact made across the centuries, and it linked her to people that had died long before her own great grandparents were born.

There were times of joy and times of sorrow in this quilt.  There was a patch from her great great great great great grandmother, taken from the fabric of a dress she wore as a child in a Japanese-American internment camp during World War II.  There was a patch made from the uniform her great great grandmother wore while in command of the International Jovian space station.

She picked up her needle and began to thread it, thinking it strange that she would be the last person to ever contribute to this quilt.  The war was devastating, leaving humanity scattered across the remains of the world.  There were clusters of people living in space, most likely, and she hoped they found their own ways to survive.  She didn’t want to think that the human race was about to disappear forever.

Emmeline, however, wouldn’t bring a child into the world when daily survival was such a struggle.  Every day was uncertain, and every last resource was precious.

Then why did she cut a square of fabric from an old shirt to add to the family quilt?  There wasn’t going to be anyone to pass it on to, and there were so many other uses for the fabric that would’ve been more practical.

It was an obligation, she supposed.  It was her own small way of connecting to the past.  She’d lived alone for the past several years, and when she began to sew, embedding a piece of her own life into the collective history of her family, she felt a connection she hadn’t felt in a long time.

There were so many stories.  So many lives.  And she was a part of it all.

R is for Rubbish

Today I have another drabble for you.  For those of you who don't know, a drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

Today's word: RUBBISH

Enjoy!

Rubbish

Olivia Nutella Clearwater met her best friend in a rubbish pile.  Heathcliffe was a sandy blond who was short for his age and alarmingly skinny.

Upon their first meeting, Olivia declared she was a princess, and that she wanted to change her name to Periwinkle.  Heathcliffe promptly declared that he was an inventor.

“That’s why I dig through this rubbish pile,” he said as she tossed aside a broken toilet seat.  “You’d be surprised what people throw out.”

“My mom says it’s dangerous to be out here,” Olivia said.

Heathcliffe shrugged.  “Aren’t all the best things a little bit dangerous?”

Q is for Quantify

I have a drabble for you today!  For those of you who don't know, a drabble is a story of 100 words.  Is it hard to tell a story in that time?  Yes it is, but that's part of the fun!

Today's word: QUANTIFY

To quantify means to express or measure the quantity of something.

Enjoy!

Quantify

The package rested in Toril’s upturned palm as she stepped through the hatchway.  It would take 4,032 steps to make it to her destination on the other side of the ship.

It’d taken Toril 479 minutes of contemplation to come up with the perfect gift, and 28.7 hours of work to pay for it.

When she arrived at his door 14.35 minutes later and rang the bell, her heart was in her throat.  The door opened to a young man with cerulean eyes, chestnut hair, and a lopsided grin.

One thing Toril couldn’t quantify was the value of being understood.

P is for Prattle

I have another drabble for you today.  For those of you who don't know, a drabble is a story told in exactly 1oo words.

Today's word: PRATTLE

Prattle is defined as talking at length in a foolish or inconsequential way.  My friends and I prattle a lot, so I'm familiar with this word.

Enjoy!  Or don't, I suppose.  It's up to you!

Prattle

    “The apocalypse is supposed to happen next week,” Aaron says cheerfully as he skips another rock across the pond.

       Laney laughs.  “Wasn’t it also supposed to happen a couple of years ago?”

    Aaron nods.  “Yup.  If people keep saying it, someone is bound to be right eventually.”

     “That’s true.”  She takes her shoes off one at a time and dips her toes into the cool water.

     “How do you think the apocalypse will happen?” he continues with a grin.  “Will it be zombies?  Aliens?  Earthquakes?”

      “Hmmm.”  Laney taps her chin.  “Chocolate shortage.”

      They continue to prattle until sunset, perfectly content.

O is for Obambulate and Celebrate the Small Things

How is the A to Z Challenge going by so quickly?  It hardly seems possible.  Today I have another Choose Your Own Adventure for you.

Today's word: OBAMBULATE

Obambulate means to walk about or to wander.  Who hasn't done that from time to time?

Obambulate

It’s a typical spring morning.  You wake up, crawl out of bed, and try to understand why you set your alarm on a day you don’t have to work.  You must not have been thinking clearly when you did it.

After a jolt of morning caffeine, you decide to go for a walk.  That might wake you up properly.  You don’t have a destination in mind.  You figure you’ll just obambulate about town and see what happens.

The crisp breeze chills your cheeks as you walk.  All is peaceful, until a few minutes into your stroll, you hear a loud sound.  You look up and are shocked by what you see.

A.)   If you see an old woman getting mugged, click HERE.

B.)  If you see a car accident, click HERE.

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  TheCyborgMom and I are your happy co-hosts.

Due to some weird circumstances, I overpaid a bill recently, so this week I got a refund check for $128.  I mean, yeah, the money was owed to me, but it still feels nice to get a check in the mail nonetheless.

It's been another good writing week.  That's always worth celebrating!

My old coffee pot broke, so I got a new one this week!  Yay!  The coffee continues to flow!

What would you like to celebrate?

N is for Nadir

Today I have a drabble for you.  For those of you who don't know, a drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

Today's word: NADIR

Enjoy!

Nadir

The nadir is the lowest point.  Rock bottom.  The point at which you have fallen as far as you can.

Nadine couldn’t help but feel that this was where she was right now.  Nothing could be worse than this.  Never in her eleven years of life had she known anything worse.

She’d never forgive Mrs. Beckman for making her share a seat on the bus with Bobby Hines.  He smelled like feet, though Nadine thought most boys did.  Bobby, however, had committed a crime far worse than bad personal hygiene.

He’d pushed her once when they were five.

No forgiveness.

M is for Mislead

Here we are to celebrate another letter of the alphabet!  I can't believe we're all the way up to M already!  Today I have a piece of flash fiction for you.

Today's word: MISLEAD

I wanted to portray someone who really hates their job, but does it because they have to. That's something I have certainly experienced, and I know a lot of other people have.

P.S.-I don't hate people that work in sales.  In fact, I know a lot of people who have or currently do.  A lot of these this story was inspired by those experiences.

Enjoy!

Mislead

Who grows up saying that they want to mislead people for a living?  No one I’ve ever met, anyway.  Statistically speaking, someone on this planet surely grew up saying that, but I’m willing to bet that it’s rare.

Ugh.  This definitely isn’t where I pictured myself.

It’s a job.  It’s just a job.  It pays the bills.  If people believe you when you tell them they can’t live without the thing you’re selling, they . . .

Darn it.  I wish I could tell myself they deserve what’s coming to them.  That might make it easier.  Unfortunately, I can’t force myself to believe it.

All I can think about is the rising sense of panic that I know all too well.  That sense of dread that arises when you realize you’ve spent too much, and that the bills are coming due, and no matter how you try to stretch things, you’re still going to come up short.  That overwhelming sense of failure.  Other people have nice things like this.  I work hard and I still can’t pull it off.  What’s wrong with me?  Where am I screwing this up?

All these people.  Some of them can afford it, but most of them can’t.  Most of them are scarcely better off than I am, and I know I could never pull off the payments for these time shares.

It’s all about the selling points.  See, you convince someone that having this will give them the freedom to take vacations more regularly, and who doesn’t want that?  Tell them how much money they would spend on hotel rooms if they don’t take advantage of this amazing deal.  Never mind that the fact that some of them are taking elaborate vacations at all is going to haunt them later on.  I know that it will, because I’ve seen their financial statements.

They just want something nice.  I can’t hate them for that.

The old man sitting before me now is considering dipping into his retirement savings to do this.  I want to scream at him to leave.  I want to tell him what a mistake that would be.  “Sir, think of this as an investment in your retirement,” I say instead.

Ugh.  I’m disgusting.

A smile breaks across his wrinkled face.  “You know what?  You’re right.  You only live once, eh?”

That’s definitely true, but some gambles just aren’t worth it.  Again, I still have the chance to get out of this.  I could tell him the ugly truth, that I’m trained to convince you that you can afford this no matter how untrue that is, but instead I reach for the paperwork.  I do it because, while I do feel dreadful, a small part of me is relieved.  This deal means I can pay my mortgage this month.  “Congratulations, Sir.  I promise you won’t regret it.”

The lie is so thick on my tongue I feel like I’ll choke on it.

L is for Logorrhea

Today I have another bizarre little poem for you.  I hope you enjoy it!

Today's word: LOGORRHEA

Logorrhea is defined as a pathological inability to stop talking.  Someone with this disorder may or may not sound coherent.  It occurred to me that someone with this problem might become lonely, because people may try to avoid them.  That's how this poem came about.  I also experimented with formatting a little bit.  Hopefully it works.

Logorrhea

Can’t stop talking.

Filling the air with words, flowing so freely.

It scarcely makes any sense.

I have so much to say,

yet nothing at all.

The silence is so full of noise.

My words bring me calm.

Empty chatter is my relaxation.

With noise, I find peace.

If only, if only . . .

someone would stay to listen.

K is for Kiss

Here we are, kicking off another week of the A to Z Challenge!  Today I have a piece of flash fiction for your enjoyment.  I was in a bit of an odd mood when I wrote this one, and I think it shows.  It's okay, though.  Writer's can produce good things from odd moods.

Today's word: KISS

Here it is!

Kiss

“What a terrible day to die,” Emma murmured as she scraped several flecks of dried blood off her uniform.

Renny sluggishly moved his head so he could stare at her.  However, given that his entire system was sluggish due to blood loss and oxygen deprivation, he felt certain his eyes didn’t look as focused as they normally would.  “As far as I’m concerned, every day is a bad day to die.”

Emma looked thoughtful.  When she finally gave a curt nod, the disheveled pile of hair atop her head came tumbling down around her shoulders.  “You’re right, but it’s a Monday.  I always knew that it would be the day that killed me.”

Renny could hardly believe the strange turn this conversation had taken.  The oxygen deprivation had to be the culprit.  What other explanation could there be for the fact that, absurd as he thought this conversation was, he wanted to go along with it anyway?  “I think Friday would be worse.  Dying on a Monday gets you out of a week of work.  Dying on a Friday means you miss out on the weekend, and that just seems like a cruel cosmic joke.”

Emma snorted.  Then she turned and gave Renny a long, piercing look.  It’s the same look she always had when studying something with her microscope.  Then her features softened somewhat, and before he had a chance to ask about the sudden change, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

His hand immediately moved to cover the spot, stunned by the warmth that lingered there.  “Why?” he asked, as that was the only word he could manage.

With a small shrug, Emma replied, “I felt like it.  Dying sucks, yes, but it could be worse.  At least I’m here with someone who’s cute and has a good sense of humor.”

Renny’s heart skipped a beat, which really wasn’t necessary considering how few remained him anyway.  “So, if we’d met under different circumstances and I asked you out, what would you have said?”

A small smile pulled at the corners of Emma’s mouth.  “I think I would have said yes.”

Now it was Renny’s turn to snort.  “Good to know.  And I guess dying today is a cruel cosmic joke after all.”

Emma’s smile grew.  “What else can you expect from a Monday at work?”

J is for Jiffy

Here's another drabble for you!  A drabble is a story told in precisely 100 words. They're short, but challenging to write.

Today's word: JIFFY

I am speaking of the brevity of a moment in time, and not of the peanut butter.  Enjoy!

Jiffy

“Become immortal for a small fee!  It’ll only take a jiffy!” the advertisement proclaimed.

Jimmy stared at the TV, his lip quirked in amusement.  The idea of promoting a time-efficient means of achieving immortality was laughable as it was.  Claiming that it was cheap, however . . .

The blood bags chilling in his fridge were a testament to the steep price that accompanied immortality.  The price was paid by the people from whom that blood was taken.  It was also paid for by centuries of loneliness.  The faces of his family were long forgotten now, as were those of lost lovers.

I is for Infomania and Celebrate the Small Things

Here's a double post!

Today I have a Choose Your Own Adventure story for you!  I hope you like it!

Today's word: INFOMANIA

Infomania is defined as the compulsive urge to accumulate news or information.  In the case of today's story, the compulsion can lead to trouble.

Enjoy!

Infomania

“Hello.  My name is Robin, and I’m an infomaniac.”  The young man sitting next to you is wearing a wide smile and has a miniature notebook and pen in hand.

You resist the urge to snicker at the way Robin’s self-labeling resembles another term you’ve heard before.  That would be unprofessional.  “Thank you, Robin.  The first step to moving on is admitting that you have a problem.”  This is the same line you’ve uttered a thousand times before.

You turn to look at the rest of the group.  From the corner of your eye, you see Robin writing in his notebook.

A.)   If you ask him what he’s doing, click HERE.

B.)  If you ignore him and continue with the meeting, click HERE.

It's Friday!  Let's Celebrate the Small Things with Lexa Cain!  TheCyborgMom and I are her co-hosts.

This week my oldest son turned six.  He had a good birthday.  He got a Thomas the Tank Engine tent from us.  I can't share a picture of him using it due to some minor camera issues, but I'll get to that when I can.  Until then, here's an image to give you an idea of what it looks like.

He also got a telescope from my dad.  He loves it!

What would you like to celebrate?

H is for Hire

Hey there!  I'm back again, and this time I have a little piece of flash fiction for you.

Today's word: HIRE

Enjoy!

Hire

The job market is tough these days, even if you have a marketable skill.  There are too many people, and not enough positions.  If you want to get anywhere professionally, you need to know how to create demand.

Coming to this realization shaped every inch of my life that followed.

With my state-of-the-art mini missile launcher slung over my shoulder, I make my way to my next mark.  The InterGal Communications building is the sort of sprawling monstrosity you’d expect from a multi-trillion dollar company.  They have the market cornered when it comes to inter galactic communications.  If you want to contact a family member on a distant colony, you have to go through them.  That might explain why they charge so much for their services too.

Not that I’m any better.  I charge more for my services than most people make in a year.  Hey, there are risks involved.  I’m not sitting pretty in an office somewhere calling the shots while someone else gets their hands dirty.  I’m in the field every day.

I take up my position on a grassy knoll.  Yeah, I enjoy little details like that.  I’m facing the wing of the building that houses R&D.  This is where their engineers work to improve the communications network.  There are some brilliant minds in there.

I balance the mini missile launcher on my shoulder, and with a quick check to make sure everything is aligned, I pull the trigger.

The resulting explosion knocks me on my back, and the heat reminds me of cooking out with a barbeque grill on a warm summer day.  Mmmm.  That sounds nice right about now.

I stand up and stroll back to my awaiting vehicle.  When I get back, I can inform my anxious client that InterGal Communications will soon be looking for skilled engineers.  He just may be able to get the job this time around, and I’ll get paid a tidy sum.

G is for Grouse and a Grammar Infographic

Here I am to present to you a grand tribute to the gallant letter G.  Can G actually be gallant? I don't know, but I felt like saying it, so I did.  Today I have another drabble for you.  I have drawn inspiration from today's word and condensed it into exactly 100 words.

Today's word: GROUSE

There are two definitions of this word, but since there are no birds present, I think you can assume I went with the other definition, which is to complain.

Enjoy

Grouse

Colin sat in his car smoking a cigarette.  His mother would kill him if she knew.  As it was, she was already considering kicking him out of the house.

Alone in the high school parking lot, he waited.

The cover of night cast the school in shadow.  It looked like an entirely different place.

A couple of minutes later, the short, plump form of Mel Davenport appeared and slipped into the passenger seat.  A bruise marred her left cheek.

“My dad’s hitting me again.”

Colin nodded.  “My mom says I’m nothing but a disappointment.”

Mel nodded in understanding.  “That sucks.”

And since we're doing the letter G today, I thought I'd share an interesting infographic that has to do with grammar.  One of my favorite TV shows, Red Dwarf, is mentioned, so I just had to share it.  This comes from http://www.grammarly.com/grammar-check.

My takeaway is that proper grammar never hurts!