Derb – Thanks much. Though I think I do have problems with both “indeed” and “of course.” Also, as many readers have noticed, I’ve too often relied on gravity-bending analogies. So-and-so is such a black hole of ignorance that not even light can escape or some such. I’ve been trying to ween myself.

The crickets-chirping thing does raise a good point, however. We need new ways of saying that the silence was deafening because “the silence was deafening” sounds even worse than crickets chirping. Also — as I believe we discussed here before — my Dad was always desperate to find a new way to say “the greatest thing since sliced bread.” He also always wanted to know what they said before humans figured out how to slice bread. “The greatest thing since pointy rocks”? Also, since we’re critquing others, Lowry has a real addiction to dashes as parentheses.