Out and About – Week of September 14th

I was lucky to be raised by parents who were teachers. I was fortunate to receive my education when cursive writing and grammar were important in the school curriculum. I am even luckier to be married to a retired Language Arts teacher, who keeps me on my toes when it comes to the proper use of grammar. Cursive writing and proper grammar aren’t that important anymore, and that’s unfortunate, because if you meet someone for the first time and their grammar is pathetic, it might change the way you feel about that person. Here are some examples of words and phrases that are sometimes used incorrectly:
Supposably is wrong………………………….Supposedly is correct
For all intensive purposes is wrong………For all intents and purposes is correct
Irregardless is wrong………………………….Regardless is correct
I could care less is wrong……………………I couldn’t care less is correct.
Expresso doesn’t exist………………………..Espresso will definitely wake you up
Pacifically is wrong…………………………..Specifically is correct
Ex Cetera is wrong……………………………Et Cetera (Etc.) is correct
I seen it, should be I saw it.
Of upmost importance………………………Of utmost importance is correct
I need to lay down should be stated I need to lie down. You lay an object down.
I am not anywhere near perfect when it comes to using proper grammar or sentence structure. This column passes by two editors before you read it. I am constantly learning something from these two editors and for that, I am grateful.
There are two topics that I stay away from, when putting this column together. One is politics and the other is religion. You can get plenty of that from Facebook. I do, however, have certain people that I admire, who have served their time in the political world. I admire them for their bravery, wisdom, and the courage to stand up for their beliefs. Retired General Colin Powell is one person that I admire. I’ve read his autobiography and respect his decision to not seek the highest political office in the world. I’d like to share a quotation from General Powell. It deals with laptops.
“All children need a laptop. Not a computer, but a human laptop. Moms, dads, grannies and grandpas, aunts, uncles – someone to hold them, read to them, and teach them. Loved ones who will embrace them and pass on the experience, rituals and knowledge of a hundred previous generations. Loved ones who will pass to the next generation their expectations of them, their hopes and their dreams.” ~ General Colin Powell.
My take on this is that if more parents would take on the job of parenting, perhaps there might be less trouble in our society. I’ll be the first to admit that my generation is the most to blame. We wanted to be more of a buddy than a parent. We were afraid to hurt our children’s feelings. We failed to pass on proper manners and respect for each other.
I try to end every column on a happy note. I can see the bottom of the column, so I’d better get busy and reach into my “Funny File”. Here are two things that make a lot of sense:
There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 AM. It could be a right number.
No one ever says, “It’s only a game” when her/his team is winning.
See you Out and About!

Submitted by Norm Stutesman