Simple Language

I wish I had saved all the powerful examples of very simple language I've seen over the years. When I am coaching young or new writers, I share with them something I'd read about Hemingway -- how he rarely used long or fancy words. When I read this, the example they gave was the Hemingway line:

We sat in the sun and drank wine. It was good.

That just says it all. A few years back, a mother of an 18-year old son who was killed in Iraq was quoted as saying, "I wasn't finished raising him yet."

Today, Mary sent me the Amtrak statement honoring Senator Lautenberg who is being carried from New Jersey to DC on Amtrak and how honored they are to do this and how instrumental Senator Lautenberg has been to the railroad. This is how it ends:

Thank you, Sen. Lautenberg, for your service to the nation.  You have arrived at your final station.