A few weeks ago, Laura and I decided to re-watch the entirety of Downton Abbey. We adore the series and if memory serves, this latest viewing was her fourth. It was my second. Granted, Laura has been aboard the Downton train since its inception. She, along with my mother, have been avid fans who harken back to the days of 2011 when it initially aired on PBS. I’ll confess that I ignored much of the hubbub. The brouhaha. As my mother filled me in on the show, I secretly thought she was mispronouncing Downtown, as in Downtown Abbey. As it turns out, she was correct and I was incorrect. Downton Abbey is a fictional estate located in Yorkshire County, England (filmed at Highclere Castle). It’s an excellent show, but not one without its drawbacks. It’s those drawbacks I wish to discuss in this post today.

Reading For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway has taken longer than expected. It’s been a slog, to say the least. As I’ve mentioned dozens of times, if I love a book, I’ll read chapters each night. If it hasn’t exactly picked up yet, I’ll read a page or two and fall asleep doing so. Apparently, evidenced by my falling asleep so quickly after opening this one, I’d say it’s yet to pick up. I’m hoping it will. I’m more than halfway through so something’s bound to happen. I mean, it’s just got to happen, right?

I’m not sure of how many times I’ve written this post. Each time I enter the internet though, I’m compelled to write it again. I swear, the world is against me in this regard. It teases me and taunts me – all because my mother was an English major during the final two years of her college career. Much of my young life was consumed with grammatical correction and since I surely can’t wander around the depths of the seemingly dark web commenting on the grammar of people who would lambast me for doing so, I’m relegated to the writing of my thoughts on this very website. I apologize for putting you through this, but it’s something that needs to be done.