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A reader who made us better

I get a lot of calls from readers. After all, my name's on the front page and I actually tell people to call and let us know when we get things wrong. As you might expect, I have some regular callers -- people whose voices I recognize and people who have frequent ideas for us or things that they really, really wish we'd do something about. Today I noticed the obituary for John Stafford, a coastal activist who was known for his optimism and his absolute belief that the printed word was sacred. So sacred, in fact, that he often called me to let me know about words we'd misused in the paper or horrific punctuation. And, he was always, unfailingly correct. I'm going to miss the friendly yet exasperated calls in his clear British accent. When he couldn't find me at my phone, he would leave a message precisely describing the nature of the offense -- a misplaced comma, incorrect use of the word "troops" or an errant possessive -- and tell me the best reference book and on what page I could find the issue. John made us better with each call, because he invariably drew our attention to something we should have known and wouldn't forget again. He cared so much about the language that he reminded us that every word counts. We'll miss you, John.
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