Just composing an email to a friend in the USA … which included the line

"Hope all is well with you in the land of the free."

It used to be just a pleasant and different way of greeting that I have used for many years with certain people. And then it hit me … I then spent 5 minutes trying to decide whether to include it or not. I ended up writing …

"Hope all is well with you in the ‘land of the free’."