My mother took language, both written and spoken, very seriously. The last thing I wanted to hear upon showing her an essay I was writing for school was, "Bring me the red pen." In those days I did not have a computer; all my assignments were written longhand or on a typewriter, so the red pen meant a total rewrite. She was a tough editor, but it was impossible to question the quality of her work or the passion that she brought to the writing process. All of the things Strunk and White have taught others throughout the years my mother taught me, on her own, with the benefit of only a high school education and a voracious appetite for reading.