A makeup hood is a worthwhile buy
HINTS FROM HELOISE
HELOISE
Dear Heloise: When I am getting dressed, I put on a make up and-hair protector hood. You just put it on and zip it up. Your hair stays in place, and makeup doesn't get on your clothes. I stick one in my purse when I go clothes shopping. — Terry T., in Carlisle, Ohio
Terry, these are, indeed, very handy, and the net ones can be hand-washed and reused. You can purchase these online. Just type in "where to buy a makeup hood." — Heloise
News from afar
Dear Heloise: I love the corny, old-fashioned letters at Christmas from family and friends. I don't feel left out on various news and happenings. At 84 years old, I can remember when writing a letter was fun, and receiving a letter was even better! I hope these letters never stop coming, unless I'm no longer on this earth.
It's a lost art, but there are few things in this world that I enjoy as much as getting a nice, long letter, especially from one of my five sisters, my three brothers, or their children. — Belinda K., in New Bedford, Massachusetts
Grammar sound-off
Dear Heloise: I recently enjoyed the letter entitled "Using proper American English," after which I simply had to weigh in with a few of my own long-standing pet peeves. One that never fails to strike me — with all the subtlety of nails scraping across a chalkboard — is the increasingly common phrase, "Me and him are going to the football game." The correct form, of course, is, "He and I are going to the football game," since both pronouns are acting as the subject.
The same issue appears on the object side. I often hear people say, "Bob sent letters to him and I," which is equally jarring. Even someone with the loosest relationship to grammar wouldn't say, "Bob sent a letter to I," which makes the error all the more puzzling. The correct form is, "Bob sent letters to him and me," because both pronouns are receiving the action.
My only wish is that news programs — with their layers of writers, editors and teleprompters — would take greater care with the language that they present. When a broadcaster says, "When we return from commercials, me and my co-host will be updating you on the governor's race." (Rather than the correct wording of: "My co-host and I will be updating you on the governor's race.")
It carries an unintended authority simply because it's spoken from behind a news desk. Children hear it and assume that it represents standard English. It would be reassuring if the institutions we rely on for information also modeled the language with the precision it deserves so that the next generation inherits clarity rather than confusion. — Mel, in Northridge, Illinois
Send a money-saving or time-saving hint to Heloise@ Heloise.com.
