Once again I have located the comma, parenthesis and semi-colon on my keyboard and with copious use of these little symbols have nearly finished my latest required paper for the seminary.

Italics, indentation, pagination, and Endnotes are nearly finished. My head is swimming with references and bibliographies as try to get straight who said what about what and why...and is it that important?

Punctuation is quite a racket; I'd hold it up to the Mafia any day.

People who 'do' punctuation have developed a small, tight, conclave for themselves. And although they use all the same marks and symbols each has developed a style quite unlike the others. This is the trap for students.

And, without belaboring the point, it is the bread and butter for the punctuationist. They make their living making decision about how to, for instance, cite a secondary quote from a magazine that one has discovered on-line. In the style book there are four and a half printed pages on where to place the comma. I have some ideas of my own.

And that's what I think about it.