as a bittern bumps within a reed

They toiled morning, noon and night to sell their idea and make it work.

Springing northeast from Paektu, the cold Tumen River separates Korea from eastern Manchuria and Siberia. On the Yalu and along the swift-flowing tributaries of the Tumen stand the Japanese-built hydroelectric plants which, until the power lines were cut by the Communists at the 38th parallel, provided 90% of the electricity used in all Korea.

“Is that some word nerd thing?” I chuckled. “You would not believe how much controversy there is over something as simple as whether or not to put a comma before the word 'and' at the end of a list.”