For the love of words

I have an obsession with writing which is probably painfully obvious to everyone that knows me. I also have an obsession with writing well, properly, in the correct way. I would never dare to try to claim that I write perfectly. There are many times I feel I’ve completely botched sentences, paragraphs or even the entire post.

Punctuation is probably the area I have the most trouble in. I’m not on a second grade level, but sometimes I wonder if I used whatever punctuation I’m lamenting over in the correct way.

One thing I don’t have an issue with however is apostrophes. I love them. I use them constantly. Apostrophes are a sign of possession. I read somewhere a long time ago (and cannot for the life of me remember where now) that in families with multiple children the oldest is more likely to use apostrophes while the youngest rarely uses them at all. I am the oldest; perhaps that explains my love of apostrophes.

Now knowing my love of apostrophes, it should be no surprise that I was intently interested in a story I came across this morning. The headline read: Its a catastrophe for the apostrophe in Britain.

Of course the first thing I noticed was the word ITS. It’s wrong. It’s means It is. Its means that ones something. For example I would say it’s not that big of a deal (It is not that big of a deal) or I would say the blue color is its signature color (the blue color belongs to that thing). I would not say it the other way around. It would be impossible for me. It would cause me typing pain.

Britain does not agree with me. They have been slowly removing apostrophes from street signs since the 1950’s. They believe they are confusing and old fashioned. What? How is punctuation old fashioned? Confusing I understand. Old fashioned, well, that just confuses me more.

Considering I will probably never make it to Britain it really doesn’t affect me but it does irritate me. It’s somewhat of a pet peeve of mine. Spelling and punctuation in general are things I attempt to pay attention to 99% of the time.

I read a lot of different things both online and off and I am constantly finding errors. I wrote a post on using Spell-check some time back but now I can’t find it so I’m assuming it was on my old Crazy Life site. That bites. It was a good one in my opinion.

The story from my news feed said the Queen’s English is now the Queens English. Not to me. I will always say it’s the Queen’s English thank you. I cannot and will not drop my apostrophes.

I wonder what’s next… Perhaps someone will decide we don’t need commas. After all they don’t do anything important except tell you when to pause while reading. That’s not necessary is it?

Things that make me wonder...

I’m a self-admitted news freak. And specifically an odd news freak. The weirder it is, the more I want to know. Because of that, as many of you already know, I’m constantly scanning the latest headlines. Often I come across things that interest me. Just as often I come across things that I just don’t understand. I try to understand. It just doesn’t happen.

I wonder how people can go into areas of the world that aren’t developed and look into the faces of starving children but not feed them. You know the people taking pictures, writing stories or traveling the world are eating. You know they are eating that day. Why don’t they give their food to those children instead of just pitying them?

I don’t understand how people who have more than they’ll ever need can walk right past someone who could desperately use their help. Even if it’s just a $2.00 hot meal or a $5.00 pair of shoes.

And what about clichés? People all over the world repeat them. But do they mean them? They say laughter is the best medicine, why don’t doctors write jokes for their patients instead of medicines that most people can‘t afford to pay for? How about ‘Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about’? um, aren’t I already crying? Or ‘The writing’s on the wall’… Where is this wall and why are we writing on it?

These are the kind of things that run through my mind all the time. It’s the way my mind works. If you want the perfect example of MY BRAIN it’s this: as I wrote the last two sentences I saw a little furry man running around inside by head, over the bumps and crevices of my actual brain, fiddling with the clockworks that turn and grind and make me think.

Now you’re thinking “this woman is crazy”. I know you are. It’s ok. I am a little crazy. I think the crazy part of me is what keeps me sane. And I enjoy it. It’s fun.

I’d like to leave you with one to think about: If a fool and his money are soon parted but money is the root of all evil, isn’t that a good thing he lost it? I wonder...

Dear soldier, thank you for my freedom

I often complain about silly things that happen. I have even been known to write long articles on the injustices that take place around me. I’ve also made big to-do’s over things I think are just ridiculous. American things.

Well, I take them back. The things I’ve said against America anyway. Not all of them, but a few. Like saying our government is too involved in our personal lives. I discovered this morning that it could be so much worse.

Gambia is a small country in Western Africa. As a matter of fact, it is the smallest country on the African mainland. A man named Yahya Jemmeh is the ruling president having siezed his power in a 1994 coup.

In 2002 he implemented a democratic civilian government and was then elected to the position he had seized. It is my opinion that he’s nothing more than a schoolyard bully and the people were afraid to not vote for him. He was quoted by a state journalist as saying “I will develop the areas that vote for me, but if you don’t vote for me, don’t expect anything.”

In 2006 a plot to overthrow him was discovered and many army officials were arrested while other prominent army officials, including the army chief of staff, were said to have fled the country.

Today Gambia is back in the news. A British couple that were running a missionary there have been arrested for talking badly about the government. Specifically they were arrested for sedition (covert conduct that is deemed by the legal authority as tending toward a rebellion against the established order). They were sentenced to one year in prison with hard labor and a fine. For writing emails. That’s all they did. Criticized the government in emails that they sent out to their followers. I couldn’t believe it.

The Fultons (he is 60, she is 46) were running an educational center there through their church Westhoughton Pentecostal Church in northwest England. They also provided medical care to prison inmates and terminally ill people that could only be reached by boat.

They officially apologized to the President and promised in a letter to never speak or write of Gambia or their government again. They also promised never to return to Gambia without his permission. They are asking for clemency and to be able to return to the United Kingdom with their young daughter.

As I sit here writing this, thoughts of my freedom are running through my head. I couldn’t imagine living somewhere that the government was so far into my life that I had to worry about what I said or wrote. Or wasn’t able to have my own opinions and express them freely.

If you ever had any doubt as to why our children, siblings, spouses and friends are fighting in wars, this should be an answer. They are fighting for our freedom. They are fighting for our rights. For our opinions and ideas. For our voice.

Which one are you?

There are a lot of different people in the world. Some are strong and reliable. Some are weak and unreliable. It seriously blows my mind (to steal a catch phrase from the 60’s) how many different forms of strength walk this earth.

The strong build lives that are good and right. They stand up for the weak. They never follow the crowd. They are leaders.

My father was a leader. He never settled for anything until it was what he wanted it to be. If we were hungry, he found a way to feed us. If he had to roll up his sleeves and dig a ditch in 110 degrees to put that food on the table, he did it. He never complained. That wasn’t his style.

And he was disgusted by weakness which is probably where I got it from. It literally makes me sick to my stomach to witness weak people following others because they can’t do anything on their own. I’m not talking about misfortunes. Don’t get me wrong there. I feel sorry for people that are having a hard time in life. As long as they are working on improving it.

It’s the ones that sit back and complain about all the bad but never get off their butts to fix it. You know someone like this I’m sure. It seems like they’re everywhere I look.

And the worst ones latch on to anybody they think will carry them along for a little while. Oh, everybody likes them, I think I’ll just agree with everything they say… I try not to hate, but I do hate that. To me it says you aren’t worth the effort it would take to try to explain to you why that’s wrong in the first place.

I don’t know what my point is exactly, except maybe to say don’t be weak. Don’t be a follower. Stand up and be strong. Ultimately it will pay off in your favor. Life is so much better as a leader. I promise.

It IS a crazy adventure

I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching lately… I mean A LOT. I don’t know why this sudden need to discover who I am or what exactly it is I’m trying to discover. But I do know it has consumed my mind for the last month or so. My mind has been wandering through the years. Remembering moments. Remembering people.

Maybe it’s my age. I heard somewhere that when you turn 40 your whole idea of what life is changes. Things you used to like you now hate. Things you used to hate you now like. Your ideas change. It’s a very confusing time for me.

I also heard that by the time you are 45 things kind of settle. If that’s true I only have 3 years to go! I hope it’s true. I’d like to feel settled. I used to think I knew EXACTLY who I was, what I believed in and how things were supposed to be. Now I just don’t know. But I’m having a good time trying to figure it out even with the confusion. It IS an adventure and as long as I keep that knowledge deep in my heart, I know it will turn out for the best.

I’d like to say thank you to the people who have played a part in making me up to this point. You may not think you have made any difference in my life. I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong about that. Every statement, every action, every single thing whether positive or negative has influenced my life and formed who I am. Every single one. So Thank You. You are all important to me.