September 2006 Letters to the Editor

Bonehead Move

The illustration that appears with my June 2006 column, “The Calcium Conundrum,” depicts a researcher wearing a skeletal pelvis over her head. It looks like a cross between early Elton John eyewear and a welding mask. A word of caution: a cadaver pelvis should never be used as a helmet or jousting device, as it is not a suitable replacement for OSHA-certified protective headgear.

CRAIG BOWRON
St. Paul

Even After the Pelvis, He Still Gets Good Mail

I am a subscriber to your magazine who looks forward to each issue. I really enjoy the topics covered by Dr. Craig Bowron in his Hippocratise column, and his style of writing makes for very enjoyable reading. His choice of subject matter is so varied and yet relevant to me. Please express my enjoyment to Dr. Bowron.

CAROL JACKSON
Sun Lakes, Arizona

Call Waiting…But Not On Hold

Luckily, I came across John Rosengren’s article “Call Waiting” (May), before I scooped the litter of magazines off our coffee table. This is more than an interesting story—it’s good news! Regina Nicolosi’s lifelong calling to the priesthood cannot be suppressed despite attempts by local Catholic leadership to silence her. She is a model for our times, a breath of fresh air, and a gift of hope for the Catholic church.

Her perseverance, passion, patience, and humor show us how progress is made in institutions. While Dan Brown was writing The Da Vinci Code, Nicolosi was right here in Minnesota breathing life into the role of the feminine priest. Thanks to her and the other women in the United States and in Europe who swim against the current, remaining true to their calling, renewal is underway.

JENNIFER PEDALTY
Arden Hills

Bring in ’da Strunk

Regarding the August Talk story on art fairs (“Fair Thee Well”), I beg to differ with the assessment of what Ms. Hoyt needs. May I suggest a copy of Strunk & White? Please see enclosed.

[ILLEGIBLE SIGNATURE]
St. Paul

Editor’s note: Our correspondent—whom we’ll call “she,” because we’re pretty sure about that much, anyway—is referring to the bio appended to the offending article (“Contributing editor Sandra Hoyt needs one more handmade pot in her Minneapolis home”), as well as to a line in the story itself (“5,044: Number of boardings last year on the Target Art Hop, the free bus service that transports patrons between the three big Minneapolis fests” [emphasis added]).

The enclosure she mentions is a photocopied page from Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style, with the following passage highlighted:

Among. Between.
When more than two things or persons are involved, among is usually called for: “The money was divided among the four players.” When, however, more than two are involved but each is considered individually, between is preferred: “an agreement between the six heirs.”

Should we have said the bus transports people among the three art fairs? Or were we considering each fair individually, thus rendering our between correct? We invite the grammatical sticklers among you to weigh in.

And by the way—if two or more of you have grammatical sticklers between you, we don’t want to know about it.