Shadow Flutter

I’m a reader.  I read fiction of every genre and non-fiction of almost any type.  And not just books.  Food labels — did you know preservatives have unpronounceable polysyllabic names whose first letter often starts with  ‘X’ or ‘Z’?  Sounds carcinogenic just reading them. Household cleaner directions — if it gets in your eyes, call a doctor or go blind.  Clothing tags — “Don’t wear while ironing,” a tag designed to warn idiots and ward off law suits from same idiots.  Mattress tags — did you know they will arrest you if you tear off the tag?  The mattress cops lie under your bed waiting . . .  Tree Carvings — “Mike & Jim forever,” a recent one. Tattoos — “Larry and Lisa”  tattooed inside a heart, an irreversible mistake that will become the source of endless arguments between Larry and his future wife. “I was drunk.  I swear.  I don’t even remember Lisa.”  Bumper stickers — “Shit Happens,” and it does. ...

In a previous life I did proofreading for the American Institute of Physics.  They published at the time prestigious peer-reviewed physics journals.  This was also when I had grand delusions of becoming a writer or editor.  After securing the position I discovered why most writers and editors have day jobs.  They aren’t paid much.  So I opted out after a year, and chose another career path, one in which I actually made money for what I did.   And no, I didn’t verify the math.  I simply made sure it was copied from manuscript to galley correctly.  If it was wrong in the manuscript and wrong in the galleys, I was fine.    But I digress. I got pretty good at proofreading, looking at words forwards then backwards (which works for some reason), and comparing manuscripts to galleys to make sure there were no misspellings, extra words, or words missing.   But there was also the math.  Some journals were math heavy, whi...