An Old Book I Found

So I found a 1st edition of The Elements of Style by Strunk & White, a little text I have referred to here at the blog for its helpful and sometimes idiosyncratic writing advice, but who would care? Except me. And Heather who sweetly and excitedly said, "One from when Strunk was still alive!" Sadly, Strunk died in 1946 and the first edition with White came out in 1959. Why should that be sad when White is dead as well. I'm going to depress myself if I keep going.

The Death of Brad Renfro

Though I am surviving not getting my snow day—more like a slush day—Derek Nikitas pointed out to me that Brad Renfro has not been so lucky. He has died from currently unknown causes at the age of 25.

You can tell that Brad and I are not closely related because his cowardly ancestors dropped the “e” off the end of his name. As fate would have it, my brother is named Brad Renfroe and has suffered as so many others who share a name with a celebrity (surely there should be a word for that by now). My brother is almost the exact same age as Renfro and was forced to follow the star’s career through jokes. “Hey,” his friends would say, “I heard you tried to steal a boat this weekend.” I imagine my brother Brad will now be dealing with rumors of his own death that are greatly exaggerated.

But here's to you Brad Renfro, another in a long line of troubled Renfro(e)s.