At some point in late 1974 I knew my first marriage was in deep trouble when my wife asked me how to spell a word.
Now, I've never been qualified as an "expert" in English by any court of law, but I was one credit short of a minor in English in college, I'm a published writer, and (post-first marriage) I have been paid to edit books and magazine articles. Even better ... she happened to ask how to spell a word I knew how to spell. So I told her.
She disagreed. I tried to be as gentle as possible in telling her that she could disagree all she wanted, but if she looked in the dictionary she would see that I had spelled it correctly. Her response was classic (and a harbinger of this article):
"You think you're so smart! Well, I'm as smart as you are and I'm entitled to my own opinion."
I may or may not have said something akin to, "Certainly, dear, you have every right to be wrong."
