Do you remember that phrase? Did your grandmother or mother ever tell you to "Speak the King's English" or that "You're ruining the King's English"?  Maybe not, but mine did.  As a result of that (and several other directives and criticisms) my sisters and I have all cultivated a fairly decent vocabulary as well as good spelling and grammar skills. Sadly though, we don't suffer fools gladly and in this, the age of texting and instant messaging, it seems the fools have multiplied by the thousands.  Y bother learning how 2 spell words when ur going 2 abbreviate them or use numbers in ur txt. (Honestly, I don't even know how to type that sentence the way a texter would.) It wouldn't be such a big deal if people, especially adults, knew the proper way to say or spell something before they used the improper way. Most of the time I don't think these people are using the abbreviated version of a word they even know how to say or spell.  They actually think that 'probably' is spelled 'prolly' and 'supposedly' is pronounced 'supposably'. And don't even get me started on those who don't know the difference between they're, their, and there.

As you may have guessed, this is a source of aggravation for me and last week it reached it's peak.  I went to one of those e-card websites to send my sister a birthday card and was appalled at what I saw.  There was a card with a photo of a cat posed to look like it was praying and the caption read: Please God don't let them spade me.  Spade me? Really? Spade me. The word is spay.  You spay your cat or you have it spayed.  How does someone who writes copy for a living on a greeting card website get the job and not know how to spell?  Are they not hiring English majors to write? Are they even hiring high school graduates?

Maybe I should have forgone radio and become an English teacher.  Though I probably would have been one of those teachers from whom you learned (not learnt!) a lot but couldn't stand.  Alright, I'm taking my frustration and my Kate Spayed handbag and going to watch a David Spayed movie.

As host of the River's Sunday morning show "Brunch by the River" I have to know a lot about the music I play (mostly jazz, blues and soul). Fortunately, I was raised by a jazz musician father who constantly had records playing on the old console stereo. (Remember those? Huge pieces of furniture with built-in speakers, a hinged lid, and a turntable that had three speeds!) Unfortunately, I was a typical kid who only listened to Top 40 radio and hated hearing those old jazz records. But then I got my very first radio job on a small AM station doing a show called "Jukebox Saturday Night". The show, named for an old Glen Miller song, required my playing big band, swing and early jazz music.  From then on I started to appreciate various forms of jazz - from the really early swing stuff that my grandparents used to dance to, to the crazy free-form (almost unlistenable!) stuff that my father is currently into.

I think, when we were young,  people of our generation perceived jazz as something that only old or pretentious people listened to. But, and here's my best argument, I'm certainly not old or pretentious and I've learned to really like listening to jazz. Now, don't mistake the general term 'jazz' for that crap that was played on radio stations in the 90's called 'Smooth Jazz". I'm talking about the classics, the pioneers, the elements of cool - Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday & Ella Fitzgerald. And that's just for starters.

Do yourself a favor and rethink your opinion of jazz.  Get a copy of Miles Davis' version of  "Round Midnight" and go for a drive at sunset.  Buy Billie Holiday's greatest hits and do your Saturday morning chores around the house.  Pick up a John Coltrane ballads collection and play it in the background on a Saturday night when you're having dinner or cuddling on the couch with someone.  And of course, join me for "Brunch by the River" this Sunday from 9am to 1pm.

I have been a big fan of Denis Leary's ever since his stand-up video called "No Cure for Cancer" ("I love NyQuil! big N, little Y, giant f*&@ing Q"!) I watched his failed but funny television show The Job and I love the movie The Ref. I even remember going to see his friend and fellow comedian, Lenny Clarke perform live at one of the comedy clubs in Boston years ago.  So when Rescue Me started and featured both Leary and Clarke, I was thrilled.  And I was not disappointed.  The show was hysterical, irreverent, at times politically incorrect and at other times, very dramatic and heavy. I've watched it every season it's been on the air and up until this year I would have told you the first season was the best. (It sort of got ridiculously far-fetched and not so funny in the last few seasons)

However, this season has seen the return of the too funny scenes in the firehouse and featured more prominently  the hilarious and brilliant Callie Thorne as the crazy but still somehow likeable Sheila. It's been just as good as, if not better than, season 1. And the great Lenny Clarke, with his not imperceptible Boston accent,  always has some really witty lines...that is until last night's season finale. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't yet seen it so let me just say this...The final scene was a jaw-dropping shocker and yet I still found myself laughing a little. And therein lies the brilliance of the show.  Watch it!