Play* + Paly* (for Play* or Paly*)

Due to the current budget crisis in New York State, nearly half of our public parks and historic sites are slated to be closed or have their services curtailed. During a rally at the Capitol last week, emotions were running high. Perhaps the most moving speaker was a young soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder who credited the peacefulness and beauty of nearby Thacher Park with aiding in his recovery. My favorite protesters, though, were a small group of tiny kids from Harlem. As one of them put it: "If people close down the parks, we won't have any fun whatsoever... And lots of animals live there!" The children's signs were made out of green construction paper cut in the shape of pine trees. One little girl's bore the plaintive message: I LIKE TO PALY! A search in OhioLINK on Play* + Paly* turned up 17 records, including a wide variety of typos. (Five or so contain correctly spelled personal names.)

(Letchworth State Park in western New York, known as the "Grand Canyon of the East," from Wikimedia Commons.)

Carol Reid