We started talking about the commonalities in the cities and the differences. We'd left the pine trees of the south long behind and were deep into hardwoods and then into the plains. It was beginning to feel less humid and the spaces were definitely getting more open - even in the cities. Atlanta traffic was far behind us.
And then we realized we'd passed through many state capitals along our route - Birmingham, Nashville, Jefferson City, Topeka. They all shared the same distinction of being their state's select city where their representatives meet and do what they do.
The discussion continued on and on and then wound its way right on over to the grammar lesson of how to spell the word -- was it capital or capitol?
Off the top of my head I blurted, "capitol because capital is for the the uppercase letter." I even typed in this post about being in Jefferson City.
And then, about 3 am in the morning, my word nerd self woke up with a start.
My vocabulary lessons from years ago when Mrs. Windom was my teacher rang into my ears. "Remember class, use capitol when you refer to the building. Use the O when you think of the dome and A when you think of place."
And now you know, too. Well, you probably already knew didn't you?
What word do you have a favorite little "rule" to help you remember the spelling? Please share, it most likely will help me not embarrass myself in the near future.
