🚀 go-pugleaf

Being a native "Fairfaxian," I think I can be granted an opinion here.

Bill Walsh (bwalsh@access3.digex.net) wrote:
> the use of "Fairfax" alone is one of my pet peeves.
> As a newspaper editor, I'm interested in precision, and "Fairfax" is one 
> of those cases where you can never tell what people mean when they say it.

[rest of article omitted]

I grew up calling both Fairfax City and the political-jurisdictional wing of
the County "Fairfax." There was no confusion. For clarity, if one gave
directions within the County, you used some locality if possible (like
"Annandale"), but if no locality name was associated with a given point, you
said "Fairfax." To this day, I call the area of Route 1 south of the Beltway
"South Alexandria," even though it is not part of Alexandria; many of my
coevals call it "Fairfax."

Once you try to correct people's habits in labelling, you get into trouble.
The sense of place and name are part of a group's psyche, influenced by
who we are, what education we received, what parts of society we move
in, etc.  Thus localities like Balls Hill, Chesterbrook, Langley, etc.
are meaningful to those who lived there or nearby. I grew up in
McLean--it was a hole, and the name had none of the elan associated
with it in later years. To this day, I consider it a hole, because I
can still visualize the fill dump in the center of town where the Exxon
is. (I can also visualize the nicer parts of town that were since torn
down).

I'd be careful how you develop your editorial rules 'round here, unless you
come on the scene with a fine sense of history...

PS--I know Angelenos who recognize the term "LA" as referring to the city
and environs in their entirety...

> Bill Walsh
> Copy Desk Chief
> The Washington Times

AKA Vandalay Industries--is that the plastics division or the undergarments
division?

erewhon@digex.com -----------------------------------------------------------
                      "Circe: She changed men into swine."
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