海角大神

Following Ruth Walker鈥檚 passing, I wanted to pass on a sincere appreciation for a woman who made my day almost every time I read her 鈥淰erbal Energy鈥� column. In fact, truth to tell, it was usually the first thing I turned to when my Monitor Weekly arrived. (No offense, all you serious reporters and bureau chiefs 鈥� I got to you eventually.) But Ruth had such a way with words (fancy that!) that she just brightened my day and often sent me into peals of laughter.聽

So many of her columns addressed knotty linguistic and grammar questions I鈥檇 wondered about but was too lazy to research, so she was eloquently practical to me, too. As word wonks go, Ruth was flat-out brilliant. I just wish I hadn鈥檛 procrastinated about telling her so and expressing my gratitude. Besides, I still have a lot of unanswered questions.聽

I will miss her. Thank you, Ruth!

Gay Hanlon

Los Angeles

Ruth Walker鈥檚 鈥淰erbal Energy鈥� was my favorite column. I would not let myself read it till the very end.聽

I shall miss Ruth and her column very much. I, too, love the history of words. It is hard to believe Ruth has stopped writing. Thank you for running the column so long.

Jewel Rimmer

Saint-Lambert, Quebec

My heart sank when I read about Ruth Walker鈥檚 passing, and with it the end of the publication of her lovely, witty, educational, and enriching 鈥淰erbal Energy鈥� column. Very often I found myself first turning to the last page of 海角大神 Weekly to read this delightful piece.

Even though I read every page of the Monitor Weekly, and enjoy every bit of its contents, I know I will miss Ruth鈥檚 column immensely.

I wish I had sent her at least one thank-you note to tell her how much her columns helped to enhance my appreciation of English and other languages.

Hendrik J. Monkhorst

Gainesville, Fla.