Plei, your mom is the only person I've seen whose tactlessness rivals my aunt's. It's glorious.

My sister thought her middle name was Ceiling, for many years (it's Celia).

Plei, your mom is the only person I've seen whose tactlessness rivals my aunt's. It's glorious.

She was the youngest of five girls, and at least three of the five were entirely missing the tact gene.

I am wearing several layers of clothing, and a fleece hat. I am indoors.

If my aunt Mary was on fb, they could have a tactless off. You mom makes me laugh and laugh and think of Mary...

I actually know(of) two men named Cloves, actually, Jilli. One was a newspaper editor who had the dubious "honor" of receiving my red-and-green resume in a Christmas card during my "Ya gotta have a HOOK!1" job-hunting period after college, and his son, Cloves Campbell, Junior, is a Democratic legislator.

There is a Clovis way back in my father's family and, more recently, a Crafton.

Editor-istas: I just got a formatting question from a coworker who is presenting a short (3 pages single spaced) paper to a state group of law enforcement types and hasn't had to write a paper since before computerized word processing. He wanted to know...how to write it. I think I hit the basics (follow the end of a sentence with a single space and then capitalize the first letter of the first word, consider using a footer to auto paginate) but wasn't sure if there's a "business standard" for things like margin size and single vs double spacing. Would AP stylebook be most appropriate?

Can't sleep for worry.

bonny, I think Ginger is right; the lesson is "move on". You always try to fix things, and sometimes things can't be fixed by you. Or don't want to be fixed, if the things are people. Finding a place where you can live without struggle is a good goal, and will be a great relief when you do.

erin, I think AP style would be fine. That's probably the style they're most familiar with, anyway. I'd tell him to use the default margins in Word (I assume that's what he's using), just to reduce stress on him. Single-spaced is preferred but double-spaced is easier for some people to read, so I might use that.

Zenkitty, I'm sorry you have so much on your mind and heart.

bonny, you deserve a peaceful, properly cared-for home. You also deserve better in business. It seems to be a pattern with this business, that even though you have been brought in for your expertise in solving people problems, your solutions and by extention you are not getting an appropriate level of respect. And you know, it isn't about people having honest disagreements with you in any given situation. It just isn't. Undermining you is doing damage to the business, to the brand. The business owner, in letting that manager continue to jerk things around is engaging in self-sabotage. How long can you be immersed in this company culture without taking damage to your own psyche?

One of the hardest lessons to learn in life is this: You can't fix anyone but you. I am certain you know it in theory. But there are layers to this principle that we have to keep peeling back, over and over, to truly put it into practice.