The end of CRANKY YANK

I had a few other topics picked out, but I think this project has lost its steam for the moment. (Yes, that’s me being lazy and giving up!) In any case, it’s reached over 20,000 words which I think is far too many in the first place. Perhaps in the future I’ll have the desire to write to you about English Heritage and the National Trust, about accents and random foods like chip butties (first I’d have to taste one), kebabs, squash, and so on.

It’s a weird thing to hear grown men refer to each other as “love” here, but it does happen. Much more commonly, though, it’s something someone will use to refer to a young (ish) woman. “Love,” “lovey,” “chook,” “chicken,” and so on . . . I don’t mind so much being referred to as “love.” It’s better than “hey you.”

In “Silence in the Library,” Professor River Song uses the psychic paper to contact the Doctor. In it, she signs “x.” X is a kiss, literally, and I always signed Valentine’s cards to my family members with XOXO. Kiss hug kiss hug. Donna gives this as evidence that the Doctor’s being approached by an old flame, but he maintains “everybody” writes “kiss.” It is something that I quickly learned to be true: e-mails and greeting cards are signed off with “x,” even if it’s between two heterosexual girls. The rules get a bit murkier between friends who happen to be different genders. But it’s just a sign of casual affection; like “love,” nothing is meant by it. At first I held out against using the “x” in correspondence. I wanted to keep it special for someone who I really did want to kiss!

But I caved awhile back. I sign off my editor’s notes in TTZ with “x.” I wrote it on my Christmas cards and I text it to certain people. I resist using “xxx” because that looks like triple porn to me! But if you take it like it’s meant, it’s lots of affection, lots of kindness, goodwill.
So, dear readers,
xxx