Favorite letters

Today’s perspective comes from a conversation with UltraBob yesterday.

What are your favorite three letters, and why? Answer in as much detail as you can.

Here are mine:

Q: As a little girl, I loved writing the curvy 2 shape of a cursive capital Q. It confused me that numbers and letters could look so much alike. (Maybe this is why I still sometimes exchange e and 6 when I’m calculating.) As an adult, I appreciate the typographic Q with its flourish-y tail. Did I marry a man with Q in his name on purpose…?

V: A practical, versatile letter, especially as a fridge magnet. Turn V on its side to show you have values more or less of various things. Flip it upside down for a variation on A. Its vocabulary isn’t vast but it can act as a drill in a pinch.

K: A stable letter. No matter which way you turn it, you can’t knock it over. Yet it’s also sort of bristly—if I throw a K at you, you’re likely to get scratched. I also like the closed feeling in my throat when I say it: k k k k k. Get going fast enough and it sounds like a machine gun. K isn’t merely my initial, it exemplifies my personal attributes. How could it not be a favorite?

Bob’s fond of R and I’m sure he’ll let you know why…

Posted by kuri at December 12, 2003 09:15 AM