Grandpa says: Grandpa recently received information from the attorney general advising of a COVID-19 survey scam. The OAG wrote, “consumers are reportedly receiving unsolicited E-mails and text messages asking them to complete a survey about the Pfizer, Moderna, or AstraZeneca vaccine. In exchange, consumers are offered a free product, but asked to pay shipping and handling fees. Instead, the scammers bill them and never send the product.”
A heads up to our loyal readership. No free gift is worth the risk. Grandpa thanks the OAG for this information.
Grandpa,
My (pre-teen) daughter has had a lot of free time on her hands and has been using it unwisely. I suspect that some of the girls she hangs out with are bad influences on her. Lately, I have been finding things in her room that she obviously did not buy. She has no use for most of this stuff and no money to have been able to buy it. I think she is doing some shoplifting as the things are still in original packaging. Her father is not in the picture and cannot be.
Grandpa says: It might help if you could explain that last line. I will just presume he is either in jail or passed away. I see two viable options if you cannot get her to tell you from where she is getting the merchandise. You can contact a sheriff’s detective to ask her or him to come out and talk with your daughter. That might scare her straight. Or, you can make an appointment with the county department of mental health to enroll her into professional counseling. How much responsibility does she have around the house? A child who does not have enough responsibility to the household never will have enough responsibility to live in an ordered society. She should have chores that are age appropriate and only hers to accomplish. All children should.
Grandpa,
What is the difference between converse and conversate? I have heard both words used interchangeably. I have also been corrected when I have used the word converse and told to use conversate. Our prison library has no information on when to use which word. What is the rule of thumb on when to use either?
Grandpa says: The term converse means to verbally exchange thoughts. It is the verb form of the noun conversation. The term conversate came into acceptance relatively recently and has been defined as the same as converse. I have read two different etymologies for the term conversate. One says that it came about as a result of economic hardship and people not being able to get a good quality education due to a lack of school funding. People struggling to keep up in a world where education levels are so varied will do their absolute best to make the language fit the need. Another tells us that the confusion created by the words converse and ConverseTM lead to the creation of the term conversate. Either word is now socially acceptable in polite conversation. Feel free to use them interchangeably unless you are talking about footwear.
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