BLOG: I’m sorry

I like meeting new people; Everybody has a story to tell, and if they don’t have a story, maybe one day, they’ll become really rich, remember that you were nice to them once and let you crash at their mansion.

This weekend I met lots of new people, but I ended up spending more time talking with one in particular. Let’s call him “Steve.”

“Steve” is a really nice guy. He’s in the military, he opens doors for women and he has a sense of humor. There’s just one problem; he don’t know how to form an sentence correctly.

That last sentence that you just noticed was mildly incorrect? That kind of thing gets under my skin, makes me cry on the inside, and America, it really, really grinds my gears. I let it go though, for the sake of not sounding like my first grade teacher (it’s may I go to the bathroom, not can I, honey). I don’t want to completely write off a person simply because they can’t speak correctly.

That’s when things went from acceptable to “Did you sleep through every single English class you’ve ever been in?”

Phrases like “I’m umcustomed to that,” and “Is we leaving?” started pouring out of Steve’s mouth. I tried to tune it out and I tried not to care, but after awhile I just couldn’t take another, “I seen that yesterday.”

So, I corrected him. I don’t remember what phrase finally broke my spirit, but I corrected him, which I could tell abruptly soured his opinion of me. I apologized and tried to make it seem funny, but I could tell the guy was fed up with me.

I don’t want people to feel like I think I’m superior to them, I just don’t want them to continue on with their lives speaking like first graders from Louisiana. In my mind, it’s a learning situation, but I’ve come to realize that I come across as an uptight granny.

So, my end-of-September resolution (I’m making that up), is to stick with only correcting news articles instead of people when they talk. I can’t promise that I’ll stick to it perfectly, but I’ll try.