Mrs. Mary Ellen Smith passed away on April 15. She was my high school English teacher.

It takes several different teachers, from our first year of school to graduation from high school, to mold students into worthwhile adults. However, there are always one or two who standout to each adult.

The lessons learned from these teachers helped, in one aspect or another, to allow the former students to do well in a specific area of life. Mrs. Smith shaped my life in the writing world.

Of course, her English lessons were not realized for several years after graduation. My duties as a captain in the Army required a certain amount of writing. This ignited a spark of interest in forming words into sentences for others to read.

Later the lessons-learned were used to develop writing skills into newspaper columns and articles, magazine articles and books. Mrs. Smith helped me to realize words are fun. Plus, words can be used to educate and inform the public, which has become my reason for writing.

Oxymoron

Mrs. Smith taught me about oxymorons. These are a combination of words which contradict or oppose each other. The most common oxymoron is jumbo shrimp.

Other examples include: cruel kindness, deafening silence, clearly confused, small crowd and alone together. Here are a few we use regularly: paper towel, paper tablecloth, plastic glasses, original copy and old news.

Examples of using an oxymoron in a sentence include: It was a civil war. There was a friendly takeover of the company. The man was in ill health. The scientist presented an impossible solution.

There is nothing wrong or incorrect with using an oxymoron in a sentence for an article or column. The author just needs to be aware of the oxymoron in writing and conversation.

Once I mentioned the U.S. Civil War during a chat with a woman from the south. She became hostile immediately and said, in a loud voice, “There was nothing civil about the war.”

Frankly, this aspect of the words U.S. Civil war, had not occurred to me before. This was a learning moment about oxymorons. Then again, there is nothing civil about any war.

Synonyms

Mrs. Smith taught her students about synonyms. These are words with a similar meaning.

Her words in class still remain in my mind, “There are several words which mean the same thing, so using one word over and over isn’t necessary.”

Examples include: The lady was funny. Her humorous talk caused the audience to laugh time and again. She was hilarious.

Next week: Mrs. Smith continued.