Time It Goes So Fast...Just Another Manic Tuesday

I am still alive.


If you read my last one-liner, you would figure I'd be long gone by now: old bones, new grass.

I'm here, and lost in minutiae.

So lost, that I actually logged into this blog last Thursday, intending to write about my Facebook post, which noted the need for a grammar correction of a New York Times headline. Here is the headline:

Before Death, Laurents’s Was Working on New ‘Gypsy’ Film

www.nytimes.com Can you see the incorrect apostrophe on Laurent? Laurent is not possessing anything and does not need an apostrophe. I did not post a nasty Facebook message. I just said it. Just like that. No big deal.

The problem is, a business organization posted the NYTimes headline, and when I noted the grammar problem, that business removed my message. It was explained to me by the business that I should contact them if there is a problem with their post. My husband explained that the correction I made makes both the business and the NYTimes look bad, and the business connection between that business and the NYTimes would suffer if it looks like the NYTimes did something incorrect, and also it would look bad if the business, via me, posted that correction publicly. So my post with grammar correction was removed.

What I learned from this experience:
1. My bad. I feel like a criminal after the whole experience of pointing out a grammatical error. My adult education has been the exact opposite of my childhood experience: "Only my parents are crazy. Everyone else in the world must be so nice." Wrong. I have encountered, and I guess survived, so many insane lunatics. Do people really mind errors being pointed out? On a grammatical level? I did not post foul language or threats. I am trained to be a proofreader and a teacher. Do you mean people mind a Facebook posting about one little grammatical error, that I'm sure other people commented on too? Did anyone else catch that error? Hello?
2. My questions that I am still pondering: Does the NYTimes, and do businesses keep "bad" lists, just like the FBI? Does the NYTimes know who I am? Because I commented on The Great Apostrophe Error of 2011, will they ever publish my work (if I ever get it together, that is), or am I now blacklisted?
3. Am I the person who is completely cuckoo, because I mind about grammatical errors? Most of the time, they are the only things I can control. It's my domain. I am a grammar geek. It is actually quite amusing sometimes to catch an error, such as in the capital letters, "Jack" e-mail floating around. As I wrote back to one of the business people, I don't want to live in a world in which everyone must adhere to the "Shhhh. Don't tell anyone!" policy. Nothing is ever wrong, is it? Like Watergate, WMD, John Edwards, or Arnold Governator/ the Procreator, and many, many more. You know what Dylan wrote: "Steal a little and they call you a thief/ Steal a lot and they make you a king." It is ok until someone gets caught. Guess what: America IS getting caught with a large amount of show and tell dolls, walking and talking, uneducated young people. But, Shhhh! Don't tell anyone! Danger: this post might be removed too! OMG! Before this post is removed, be advised that it is ok to tell young cashiers how much change to provide when that cashier has trouble counting.

Ok. I'll stop. But I'm allowed to talk like this. I am a teacher and I know What is Going On.


Anyway.......It's been a long time since last Thursday. A lifetime.

What I have really learned is that life is way too short. Sounds redundant, but I have sooooo much to do. I spent most of the weekend cleaning. My husband and I are the King and Queen of Chachkis. and they don't mean anything. I can't "take them with me." Not even the Disney pins.


I am actually using this blog to jumpstart my writing project...and you think I have issues now!
I have to write. It's time to finish my book.

And, about the other issue that I left in my last posting, my husband is ok; he has just lost 70 to 80 pounds, not by his own intention. He's been sick. I hope I can finish writing my novel, sell it, and take him on vacation, for a long time, with lobster bakes, clam bakes, and beach and boat time. Now--those are the important things in life. Not chachkis, apostrophes, or crazy people.

I hope I come back here a little sooner. It will be a step to keep my thoughts active and my fingers typing.

E.B.B.