Gee, and All I Got You Was This Hyphen

If it seems to you that today feels a little different, that's probably because it's National Punctuation Day (at least in the U.S., but if we Northerners can celebrate the sacred tradition of Super Bowl Sunday, we can horn in on this, too.)

And in case you think punctuation is not worthy of being celebrated, I offer this diverting example from the writer John Shore, who imagines this postscript to a love letter:

P.S. I would like to tell you that I love you. I can't stop thinking that you are one of the prettiest women on earth.

And now the same words, punctuated differently:

P.S. I would like to tell you that I love you. I can't. Stop thinking that you are one of the prettiest women on earth.

So if you want to be forbearing with punctuation abusers the rest of the year, ok. But for today, at least, if you catch someone disrespecting a colon, feel free to give them a kick in the asterisk.