"I don't remember. I don't recall. I've got no memory of anything at all."
When in doubt, employ a Peter Gabriel lyric, I always say.
Remembering. Recalling. Synonyms, right? Well, for the most part.
Reader Michael Haupt shared a comment concerning a story we'd written about a beloved former Buffalo Grove village trustee.
"One headline that particularly grabbed my attention was: 'Former Buffalo Grove trustee recalled for commitment to family, community.' Why would voters remove someone from office for a commitment to family? How were they able to do it days before the election?" OK, smarty-pants.
In most cases, people freely use "remember" and "recall" as well as "recollect" interchangeably.
Of course, in the context of politics, to "recall" someone is to nullify that person's appointment or election.
DeAnn Glover was an American treasure, I'll have you know, and likely never entertained any concerns about being recalled from office. She was a trustee for 14 years, won the community service award and was a grand marshal of the Buffalo Grove Days parade, for Pete's sake.
(Still, Buffalo Grove did recall a trustee in the not-too-distant past.)
So, I can see that some sticklers, seeing our tribute piece about a former village trustee's being "recalled" right before a local election, might be confused -- or at least feign confusion.
Take note that we used the shorter "recalled" in the print headline, where every character counts, but used "remembered" in the headline of the web version of that story, where space is less of a concern.
If DeAnn had been the village's beloved arborist, "recalled" wouldn't have had the same connotation.
That's Pete
While I'm on the subject of losing good people, I'm reminded of an email I received not long ago from Pete Rosengren, my colleague who I'm sure you've read by now drowned while trying to save some kids, including his own, from a powerful rip current two weeks ago while on a beach vacation in the Florida Panhandle.
He passed along a story tip about a merger. "I have a feeling this ended up in some other mailboxes to," he wrote.
I thanked him for the tip and went about my day.
More than an hour later he wrote back: "Bad Monday A.M. ... I sent Grammar Moses email with wrong spelling of 'too.'"
That's so Pete.
I'll miss you, pal.
Sooooo what?
Reader Jill Minner wrote to tell me she and her 93-year-old mother (that's my demographic sweet spot!) enjoy discussing this column.
"One thing that drives me nuts is when someone is asked a question (usually in an interview) the responder often begins his or her answer with 'So ...' instead of just answering the question. Is this grammatically correct? If so, it still bothers me!"
"So" in that setting is a stalling technique and probably a welcome change from "ummm."
But it can have a real function as a sentence starter: to tell the reader or listener that you're about to say something, so listen up.
I can very easily become rapt in a movie, a book, a song, a bowl of soup or a feline photography shoot, and I often wish my wife would employ "So ..." more often to pull me from my trance before diving into whatever thought she is trying to convey to me.
That would save me from having to ask her to repeat the first part of the sentence that I was unaware was coming. I'm sure she thinks I'm going deaf, when in reality I'm not paying attention (to her).
I'm sure a more liberal application of "So ..." as a household conversation starter would result in less marital friction and probably save on hearing aids, too.
Write carefully!
• Jim Baumann is vice president/managing editor of the Daily Herald. Write him at jbaumann@dailyherald.com. Put Grammar Moses in the subject line. You also can friend or follow Jim at facebook.com/baumannjim.
The Link LonkApril 11, 2021 at 07:20AM
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20210410/grammar-moses-lest-we-forget-there-is-a-nuance-to-using-recall
Grammar Moses: Lest we forget, there is a nuance to using 'recall' - Daily Herald
https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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