In-person research engages your senses.
While historic re-enactments aren’t history, they convey vivid details that escape Wikipedia.
Two weeks ago I took a short flight on a Ford Tri-Motor, an airliner from 1928. Books and online articles had told me it was loud. But they failed to capture the roar of the 450-horsepower radial engines.
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Plant the seeds in advance.
It can’t be. I took a second look. Yes, it is. Driving toward me on a two-lane in western Nebraska came four familiar Model A Fords. I pulled to the side and waved as they passed, then followed them a mile into a hotel parking lot.
As soon as they told me,
the facts from several months ago
fell … Continue reading
Never rely on spell-check.
My excuse is that the magazine’s news section is huge, 8,600 words, assembled from more than 100 contributions.
My error was that I rushed this project, putting too much faith in the spell-checker. Yes, the red squiggles in Word alerted me to ones spelled wrong. But no alarm sounded when a wrong, correctly spelled word was used.
English has dozen of … Continue reading