Looks like this brown thrasher would like for us to put litter in its place.And I would like for him to put that apostrophe in its correct place.
Stuff like this used to really bother me. In a former life, I have been known to call stores to let the personnel know of an error on a sign. Now, however, I just laugh. Or maybe just chortle on the inside. Perhaps I've gotten soft in my old age. But today I wonder ... I wonder if whoever created this knows of the mistake. Did anyone get in trouble over it? Was there a debate over whether to correct the error after it was done? Did anyone proofread this to begin with? Was the copy editor out sick the day this went to print? Does anyone care? So many questions ...
It's a common mistake, really. I remember a report I did in fourth grade titled "The Sun and It's Family." When I got it back, the apostrophe was circled in red. It still haunts me. Just like the time I misspelled "dinosaur" in the third-grade spelling bee. In fifth grade, it was "among." (I tried to put a "u" in there.)
In the professional realm, I also remember things I missed while on the job. Times I wasn't living up to my "Hawkeye" title (both for my position and for my last name). Ugh. I hate that feeling.
These days, when I'm just writing for fun, I don't hold myself to my normal strict standards. My old self might be horrified at the thought! Ha!
Anyway ... I will leave you with this:
And I will ask you to please make this world a little cleaner by not using unnecessary apostrophes. Please ... do what you can ... save the apostrophes. Every little bit helps.
That is hilarious! I have a problem with apostrophes too...I sometimes use them unnecessarily. OR - I don't know if I need one so I rephrase the whole sentence to avoid it. I think I get stuck because I remember in elementary school the teacher saying "use apostrophe to show ownership". I get stuck on that. Oh - and I spelled anvil wrong in the spelling bee in 5th grade. That still bugs me me a LOT.
ReplyDeleteThat plaque may be the worst example of apostrophe abuse I've ever seen. But it's good to know that there are still people in the world who know how to use the apostrophe correctly. Also good to know there is someone out there who is more hyper about typos than I am. ; )
ReplyDeleteLOVE your post. You already know of my obsession with apostrophes. It does not seem like a hard concept to grasp (esp. for elementary school teachers). I love your Blowing Rock sign. I know I have seen it before and it has tortured me but I just can picture where the sign is located in Blowing Rock. Thanks for the chuckle. BTW -- I misspelled January in my 5th grade spelling bee. I spelled it with a G even though I knew it started with a J. Nerves I guess. I was soo disappointed in myself.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain, I am also a grammar, punctuation and spelling freak. It has definitely become more lax over the years. My cousin is a phoenetic speller, and when we were kids and used to write eachother, I would correct her letters and send them back to her...
ReplyDeleteI misspelled "hungry" in the 5th grade spelling bee. (I spelled it like the country.) And you already know about my apostrophe issues... but did I ever send you the photo I took of the sign in the clothing store advertising "collard shirts"? And they weren't even green.
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