The following is my most recent Facebook inbox exchange with Richard Barron. It’s fun to see where the conversations will go and they are often hilarious!!

Richard R. Barron

Word.

LeAnn Skeen

Damn. I think about you just about every day. For instance about twenty minutes ago I was thinkin about you. I was tryin to remember about the time I decided to memorize the dictionary. I only got as far as A. (that is the first letter, right)? So that’s when I learned about antecedents and anthropomorphism. . . I think. What is antecedent again??????

Richard R. Barron

Antecedent is a pair of your mom’s sisters who plant a garden. I’m pretty sure.

LeAnn Skeen

Oh.

So it really doesn’t have anything to do with your aunt a seein a dent?

Richard R. Barron

Your aunt makes dents in the soil with her apron strings so she can sow the reaping. Once the reaping is sewn, you can kill the reaper. But don’t fear him.

Most of what I know about antecedents comes from song lyrics, actually.