Dear Neil,

At 01:26 PM 9/6/2009, neil N wrote:
>Save curse words for a special occasion. When you do use them,
>pronounce them clearly and with volume. Much more useful that way.

My folks' house in Kittery had a long upstairs hall, dimly lit, with
dark varnished woodwork including all doors and floor painted
black.  One day the linen closet door swung open and I encountered it
briskly and totally unawares.  My response was loud, clear and involuntary.

There were some startled noises from my mother and her friends in the
kitchen below.

Yours,
David