Bobcat:
I think the basic idea behind my use of adjectives was grouping them into 'families.' For example, for the man, "grizzled" and "old" describe his appearance, "cynical" is an attitude (and I may have needed a comma between "grizzled" and "old" (not sure). Similarly, Mary's description breaks down to "location" (from Maple Street), "age" (a sophmore), and "hair" (curly, red, and long). For the bike, 3-speed desribes its mechanical operation, whereas, that it was a Christmas gift describes how the boy received it.
I like this thought of "grouping them [adjectives] into 'families.'" Descriptions: physical appearance; the inner man; location; manner of receipt; et cetera.
I could see where the adjectives might be grouped into different families and introduced in different order based on the view of the writer and how he/she wishes to compose the sentence. Language, and the use of it, is an amazing gift/talent.
Yes, BC, it is based on the writer's point of view. I would say, "The cynical, grizzled old man . . ." This if I chose to string the adjectives all together. Your and the other posters' expanding upon the basics is better, more toward developing an actual storyline. I put old before man because the main point, IMHO, is that the main character is, basically, an "old man." The rest is superfluous detail. Some old men are clean-shaven and cheerful!
The semi-colon I used might have better been a colon. To me, semi-colons seem to seperate thoughts, not necessarily directly related. Colons, on the other hand, seem to directly point (sort of like an arrow) to the thought that follows. I don't know if that is official use of them. But that is how my mind sees them.
You're correct. My example from above: Descriptions: physical appearance; the inner man; location; manner of receipt; et cetera.
When I first composed it, I wasn't sure if you wanted 3 sentences (for the man, girl, and boy) or just one that encompassed them all. Looking at your first post again, it appears you were looking for a seperate sentence for each. So my composition suffered a little from lack of attention to detail. But it was fun trying to compose them all together into one.
No suffering; my original thought was three separate sentences, but you and friends wove delightful yet somewhat differing accounts of the same three individuals!
Take Care
You, too, mon ami!
CC