Songs from Swift

"But if I were to write a good novel," Johnny continued, "I would want to make sure that all the grammar rules and spelling of words would be most accurate. There is nothing more that I detest than a typographical error in an otherwise enthralling read."

Rufio paused to think about this. "Well," he responded, "what about the word 'Yahoo', when referring to the website?"

The inquiry was a strange one, to say the least, because the website's name is officially spelled with an exclamation mark.

"Well," thought Johnny carefully. He paused a bit longer. "I think if the official spelling of 'Yahoo!' is with an exclamation mark, I would say use it in the writing."

"But wouldn't the exclamation mark ruin the flow of prose and dialogue?" Rufio inquired, "I think it's better if 'Yahoo' is spelled without an exclamation mark, because that's still the name of it, and people will recognize it regardless."

"'Yahoo!' needs the mark to distinguish it from other...you know, uses of the word," Johnny replied feebly, still unsure about his point.

Rufio laughed. "What other uses of the word? You mean to refer to the beasts as described by Gulliver? You think that proper context will still cause confusion of the word?"

"I don't know," Johnny grumbled. "It's obviously causing confusion right now." Johnny didn't like to be the subject of laughter. He was sensitive that way and couldn't quite understand how others found it even funnier that he was so.

"I think that grammar is grammar, and rules are rules," Johnny continued. "I'm not trying to be a stickler or overly rigid on the rules, 'cause I know they're pretty arbitrary, but if the name of the object has strange punctuations, they should be included. It is how the creators of the word intended it to be, so writers should respect that."

"True," Rufio thought. Johnny had a good way of sounding like he had thought about everything before, as if he was prepared for all conversations. He always had something to say, a clear opinion on things, or so it seemed. It probably was just the way he said things, his tone, Rufio thought.

"But," continued Rufio, "do you not contend that, when referring to the website, readers will understand the use of 'Yahoo' in the context of the conversation? So would the use of the exclamation mark really be necessary? It seems kind of excessive to me. It interrupts the flow of the conversation in dialogue, and distracts the power in prose. It weakens the writing ability of authors, in my opinion."

"It doesn't matter," Johnny stressed. "The word itself is 'Yahoo!' with an exclamation mark. Obviously when we talk about it, it doesn't matter whether the punctuation is there or not, but if it's in written form, at the end of the day, the word has an exclamation mark. Without it, it's another word!"

"No," argued Rufio, "the punctuation doesn't dictate the word. It's the use of the word itself. How you use the word to convey the message is the important part. It doesn't really matter how you spell it, as long as the message gets across. The word has served its purpose, and any other rules are just superfluous. The exclamation point in 'Yahoo' is a perfect example. Plus, like I said, with it, the flow is ruined."

"Don't be stupid," Johnny replied. The command was said innocently, and anyone who knew Johnny knew he didn't really think others stupid. Johnny did worry that he might be using it too much, though. You never know who you might offend with what you say.

"It doesn't interrupt the flow of a conversation any more than the © symbol does. It's just punctuation," Johnny contended.

"But think about it," said Rufio. "The exclamation point conveys an emotion, while the copyright sign doesn't. Plus, if you used the copyright thingy in context, it just looks weird and that in and of itself is a distraction to the reader."

"It depends," Johnny said stubbornly.

"Maybe," Rufio thought aloud, "maybe the author himself or herself needs to decide. But whatever he or she decides, an author needs to be consistent with his or her choice. If he or she spells 'Yahoo' without it once, it has to be the same way throughout, at least when referring to the website."

"I agree wholeheartedly," Johnny said. "Though I can't imagine any good novel being written if the word 'Yahoo!' is a main point of contention in the story."

Rufio chuckled. "Yeah," he said, "it would be a pretty boring, to say the least. Talking about it is already boring."

Johnny laughed. "We'd probably make horrible writers anyways," he said. "We also would never be able to edit shit for each other since we disagree all the time."

"Yeah," chortled Rufio, joining Johnny's laugh.

Slowly, like fire to embers, their laughter faded into smiles, both quietly drifting away from the topic mentally and into the aimless thoughts before sleep, the calm before the unconscious.

"Night," Rufio said a minute later.

"Night," replied Johnny sleepily, still distracted in his own thoughts.

And with that, Johnny and Rufio fell into a silence that bled into their slumber.