Saturday, April 24, 2010

"Trip, Stumble, Fall"

Have you ever been out for a leisurely walk, not really watching where you were going, when all of a sudden you trip on a crack in the sidewalk?  It can be very disruptive, interrupting your thoughts and even making you a little self-conscious.  But you keep walking and soon you forget about it.  Then, when you've gotten back into your "groove", a bigger crack causes you to stumble!  Arrgghh!  Now, you're getting upset.  Why can't somebody fix this?  The city, or the owner, or whoever is in charge....somebody ought to take the time to repair this!  Hmppff!  You become a little more aware of where you are stepping, looking ahead to prepare for the next obstacle....a hole, a rock, an incline....something that might actually cause you to fall!  And there it is, you can see it just ahead.  That's it!  That's enough!  You turn around and go home.

Well, your nice peaceful, leisurely walk has been ruined.  Just walking was no longer possible.  You had to concentrate on your steps not your journey.  The pleasure was gone when you had to worry if you would "Trip, Stumble, Fall".

Lately I have been reading a lot of random blogs, just perusing, thinking about all the different things people care about, enjoying the colors, the photos, the humor, the creativity, the stories, and the insights.  I sign up for the ones I really enjoy and look forward to their next posting.  It's fun and I love doing it.

Of course, I don't love absolutely every blog I come across.  Some just don't appeal to me at all and that's OK.  You don't have to like everything in life.  However, every so often, I'll come across one that's really interesting, or funny, or touching, or something and I will spend a goodly amount of time wandering back through their posts and getting to know the author.  I enjoy the journey some folks take me on.

Until, suddenly, unexpectedly, I trip!

"Oops, what happened?" 

"Their not my problem."*

 I look back over the last sentence I read (above) and realize it is the wrong tense, or the wrong word, or its misspelled, or something.  Well, we all make mistakes occasionally, right?  I keep reading.  Just when I'm getting back into the "groove", I stumble!  "Whoa!  What was that?" 

"We ate at a new restrant last night.  It was a pretty nice restrant."

A spelling misstep, worse this time, jumps out at me, and for good measure, it is repeated in the next sentence!!  "Hmmm, that's annoying.  Don't all writers check their work before they publish it?"  Well, evidently not!

Okay, I'm still enjoying the content mostly, so I go back and keep reading, but I'm wary, sort of scanning ahead, waiting to find the next obstacle.  "Aha!  And there it is!" 

"I've went to this pityful camp three times now."

That stops me cold.  Nooo, it doesn't really say that, right?  Wrong!  I've read it three times now.  That's what it says!  I'm hoping it isn't ignorance, that its just laziness.  In general, the blog (which shall remain nameless!) is interesting, kind of cute, and doesn't seem like the writer is a bit dim-witted.  But, Oh Howdy, I just can't take any more.  I have tripped.  I have stumbled.  And I have fallen.  I am gone!

This one was the worst I've ever seen, but there have been others.  Many writers don't seem to even try to proofread their work.  When I'm writing, I do thoughtless things too, but I try to catch them and correct them before I publish.  I'm not always 100% successful, but I try.

If a writer can't take the time and make the effort to fix their mistakes, I can't take the time or make the effort to read what they write!  It's as simple as that.

"Trip, Stumble, Fall"??  No thanks.  Not interested.  Bye!


*I swear I did NOT make these up!  They are real mistakes from a real blog (which shall remain nameless, for obvious reasons!!)


8 comments:

  1. Mellodee, I hope my blog is not one that causes you to stumble. I enjoy your visits. I am not a writer. My blog is full of errors. I use to worry about my ignorance showing through and almost gave up blogging. My blogger friends told me they did not care about my mistakes. They enjoyed the depth and content. So I decided to happily continue along with my humble ability's and enjoy blogging. I am sure there are people who pass me by because I do not change my background or because my punctuations are in all the wrong places and that is OK. with me. I pray you are enjoying your weekend and that you will remain one of my friends. Dee

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  2. Oh dear! I never meant to insult anyone!! Especially not the bloggers I read faithfully! I'm not talking about you or anyone here. I swear! I came across the one I described accidentally and to that one I won't return. None of us are perfect, especially me!! Never fear I love your blog (and all the ones I follow!) and would never, ever do anything to jeopardize our friendship.

    Sometimes I get carried away with my own cleverness and forget how judgemental I can sound.

    I'm sooo sorry! Please forgive me!

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  3. I once saw a status update on Facebook that said "he puts me on a petal stool."

    It took everything I had to not unfriend them ASAP.

    I make typos and I don't edit carefully. But I think I'm pretty clear most of the time!

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  4. Oh No!! Really? Wow, words fail me! :)

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  5. It's happened to me too, and it's so distracting. Then, I start thinking that maybe I haven't been proofing my posts very well and others may be distracted by my lack of writing abilities. But then, like you said, they do not have to return to my blog. laurie

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  6. Hi, My computer (Betsy)is finally running at a normal speed and I am out and about in blog land visiting my friends.Thank you for your nice comment about my art journey. It means a lot to me. In response to me calling my computer Betsy, I am just a corny person. I name everything. :)

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  7. As one who majored in English in college, and spent many years earning her living using words, I understand that it can be irritating to bump up against spelling or usage errors in blogs. I proofread my own blog obsessively, and still find errors. It happens.

    For instance, in an above comment, you wrote, "None of us are perfect, especially me!!" Now that's a boo-boo that I often see; in American English, it should read, "None of us IS perfect...."
    ("None" takes the singular form.)

    When I come across a blog with multiple English usage issues, I feel badly for the blogger -- she or he deserved better teachers in grammar school or should take a few moments to proofread -- but I can still enjoy the content.

    Meanwhile, Happy Birthday to your Mister. 65? Wow, that used to seem old to me, too, but gazing at it from my fifties' perspective, it's looking younger and younger.

    Thanks for visiting That Old House. I wish my entire house were as "well appointed" as the yellow guest room, but we're a long way from that point. Considering that we decorate with hand-me-downs and eBay and Craigslist bargains, we just may have the least costly "appointments" in northern New Jersey!

    If only we could afford to paint the darn old gal! I don't dare take closeups of the outside. :-)
    Best wishes!
    Cass

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  8. One of the disadvantages of having the English teacher I did in 8th grade is that I've become a grammar and spelling snob! God knows I'm not always correct, but a misspelling or a poor use of grammar is like nails on a blackboard to me.

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment. It's really nice knowing what you think!! Besides, comments keep me from feeling like I'm here all by myself!! :)

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