Because you read the Union Tribune, you probably enjoy, as I have for four decades, Greg Evans’ daily comic strip “Luann.” But you may not know that Greg and his wife Betty have resided in San Marcos for 45 years, where they continue to receive the paper version of the U-T delivered to their home.
Greg grew up near Disney Studios in Burbank. He frequently rode his bike to the studio gate, dreaming that Walt would come out and hire a seven-year-old.
Greg began creating and submitting comic strip ideas to syndicates, collecting an impressive pile of rejection slips. One day, watching his six-year-old daughter Karen play dress-up-like-a-grown-up, he imagined a strip about a young teen girl.
Hilarious and wonderfully human “Luann” debuted in 1985 in 78 newspapers. That number has grown to more than 400. In 2003, Greg received the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of The Year. And Karen? She’s now a real grown-up — and she writes “Luann.”
Over time, Greg Evans has checked in with a number of questions about word choice, grammar, and punctuation. Here’s a selection, each one followed by my response:
Greg writes, “I stumble on (and at age 78 you’d think I’d have plenty else to stumble on) who vs. whom. Fortunately, this is something not a single cartoonist worries about these days because all we write is dialogue and, really, who says ‘whom’? Not Luann. Not Hagar the Horrible. Okay, maybe Mary Worth.”
My response: More than 70 years ago, Professor Arthur H. Weston composed this ditty:
It’s hard to devise an appropriate doom
For those who say who when they ought to say whom.
But it’s even more hard to decide what to do
With those who say whom when they ought to say who.
When I am asked for who the bell tolls, I answer, “It tolls for whom!” Whom may one day disappear entirely — but not yet in formal writing.
If a pronoun can be replaced by he or she, the correct word is who. “I know he did it” = “I know who did it.” If the pronoun can be replaced by him or her, the correct word is whom: “Do you trust her?” = “Whom do you trust?” Maybe one day the old pronoun whom will kick the grammatical bucket. Until then, why not show this venerable word some respect?
Greg writes, “I am a member of ‘The National Cartoonists Society’ (official title), or should we be ‘The National Cartoonist’s’ or Cartoonists’ Society’?”
My response: A possessive apostrophe informs the reader about who or what possesses who or what: “a dog’s life,” “the Artemis II crew’s splashdown.” When the possessor is plural, the apostrophe should come after the “s”: “kids’ meal,” “Ladies’ Room,” “Presidents’ Day.” Thus, “The National Cartoonists’ Society” would be the best choice, although I can live with
“The National Cartoonists Society.”
Greg writes, “I opt to write, ‘Betty and I read your language column every other Saturday’ because, unlike you, I can never remember how to use semi– and bi-.”
My response: Semi– means “half” and bi– means “two.” Thus, my column appears in this space semimonthly, every half month, not bimonthly, every two months.
Greg Evans’ inquiry about semi– and bi– prompts me that it’s about time to talk about time. Has it ever struck you that what we call the First Century B.C. was actually the Last Century B.C. and that during daylight saving time not a single second of daylight is saved? Have you ever noted how ambiguous are statements that involve time?: