The letters of the alphabet are commonly used by themselves, much more often than we realize. When it comes to using letters in singlets, not all letters are treated equally. In particular, I feel the letter D has been mistreated. Let me share some ways letters have been placed on top of the T.

Since I is me, we have to give it top props as a single letter. There is an A-team of letters, and A thinks it is captain of the squad since it comes first, it is a word by itself, and of course, due to the team name. X marks the spot, how cool is that? Since O gets confused with a circle, we see it all around us. From the time we can first identify letters, we recognize the big E tops the eye chart.

Though we add a couple letters to the name, we still get stung by a B, and we even call our practice sessions a spelling B. The letter C has two words that we pronounce the same, though neither one contains the letter. How bizarre. Don’t the zaniest words have the letter Z, along with a few structural designs portraying the Z is a strong support.

Then there are the useful letters. We make S and J hooks, but the S on the chest is better than one on the wall. Most goalposts were originally an H, and how many T’s do you see right down the street that hold our telephone wires? M & M’s are the best, and at least G is part of the G.O.A.T. On a calculator I learned to spell upside down using 7 to get the L, which probably has people showing me the L on the forehead symbol to tell me what they think.

An umbrella is clearly the shape of a U, and is now a favorite in texting, especially if someone is not happy with you. It is a bit odd that a fork in the road is shaped like the letter Y, though we rarely ask why, but at least there are signs with just the Y for yielding. It takes duplicate letters, but RR is know to be a railroad. Finally, who does not use the symbol for victory though we can share peace with the same two fingers?

I struggle to think of anything quick for the letters F, K, N, P, Q, and W, but then they are not considered the more common letters.

I think D gets the bad rap of all of the letters. No one wants a D at school, and the shape itself has no uses at all. The the D on the chest was for UnderDog, or did he have a U. Size DDD is too big, yet the grade D eggs are too small. I feel that we quickly forget the best book ever written, and one of the first many of us may have read, “Go Dogs, Go.” Yeah, we all learn the word Cat first, but the better pet is well known to be the Dog.

Recognize what makes the day, because without the D, it would be A. However, you do not want to meet the DA.

May you have a Dynamite Happy Friday,