Folks, I've shuddered and TRIED to bear it, but I can't any
longer.

THE PLURAL IS NOT -- HARDLY EVER (see below) -- INDICATED BY AN
APOSTROPHE! It is Serissas, NOT serissa's. It is web sites, not
web site's. It is bicycles, not bicycle's. It is bonsai not
bonsai's (bonsai is both singular and plural).

I don't know who started this style of spelling on the internet
(you seldom see it anywhere else - tho it is on at least one
billboard in Tallahassee!), but if I ever find him (or her)
he/she is toast!

Apostrophes (note: no apostrophe) are used to:

1. Indicate the possessive: Jim's bonsai. Bush's idiocy.
2. Show that a word is a contraction -- I won't take it any
longer. I can't!

They are NOT used to indicate the plural (which means, more than
one of something).

The ONLY time apostrophes (note: no apostrophe) MAY be used in a
plural is in plurals of NUMBERS: 1's, 2's 3's etc., and
Plurals of acronyms and initials: as in PC's (though, many folks
(Yours truly included) eschew this use and just say PCs) (and
[less often] 1s 2s and 3s, for that matter).

But anyway, please have mercy on this simple soul. Forget the
apostrophe as an indicator of plurals (NOT plural's)! I'll
sleep better, un-invaded by dreams of armies of apostrophes being
put into forced labor for things they're not supposed to be
doing.

For the grammar and punctuation challenged among us, I can highly
recommend "Woe is I" by Patricia T. O'Connor (another legitimate
use for the apostrophe), Grossett/Putnam Publishers, 1996. It's
fun to read -- and very educational. For those who merely want
to learn punctuation, I can recommend even MORE highly: "The New
Well-Tempered Sentence, a Punctuation Handbook for the Innocent,
the Eager, and the Damned" by Karen Elizabeth Gordon, who, in
addition to being a good writer, is a beautiful lady. It is
published by Ticknor & Fields. 1993.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - "People,
when Columbus discovered this country, it was plum full of nuts
and berries. And I'm right here to tell you the berries are just
about all gone." -- Uncle Dave Macon, old-time musician

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