Hey, SE Readers. Joan with you on this Friday in May. Can you believe it’s the middle of the month already?

My last few posts have been more on the “how to” level. Today I thought I would write something a little lighthearted, although the subject has become controversial among many writers.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the best at punctuation. For instance, those pesky little commas often get the better of me. It’s been a long time since I was in school, and English wasn’t my favorite subject. Do I always insert a comma before a conjunction? Or only when each part can be stand-alone sentences? Not to mention all the other rules that come with its usage.

But there is one thing I’m staunch about the use of, and that is the Oxford (or serial) comma. Consider the following:

• I invited my parents, John Lennon…