My mother was an English professor; she often decried the seeming demise of the semicolon. When, by means of surgery, she was left with half a colon, it appeared that she would never again be without a semicolon. She passed away last year, at the age of 94; alas she took her semicolon with her. Nothing lasts forever.

Condolences on the loss of your mom. A friend of mine who had colon surgery recently calls herself a semicolon, which I think is hilarious. I use semicolons frequently in my writing. I did not realize it was unusual.

Thanks for the thoughts. I somehow suspected that many others must have also found themselves unable to resist turning a gut-wrenching, or at least shortening, experience into an excuse to let loose with a hearty pun.