True (Five Minute Friday)
Another Five Minute Friday, and today’s topic is TRUE.
Here are the rules:
1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community...
GO:
Once upon a time, my mom said something to me, and I responded with, “True dat.” You know, I was down with the 411 and totally cool with the “hip” lingo as a current freshman English teacher.
Mom, in her infinite glory, looked at me with a most serious face and said, “Lydia! It’s THAT’S. TRUE.”
I responded with, “Gee, thanks, Mom. I wasn’t sure about the correct grammar for that phrase.”
I give her a hard time about this, and the incident occurred probably ten years ago (I was cool even back then). But this is just a small insight to my up-bringing.
Mom was an English major (like yours truly), and she was — and still is — a stickler for correct grammar.
This has created quite the grammar Nazi in me.
One time, when I worked for the bank, I was up in arms over a horrible incorrect grammar faux pas on a sign they wanted to sign in the banking center. It said, just like this:
A great deal now, and, a great deal later
No – I didn’t forget the period. And no, I didn’t add in a comma just for fun.
That is exactly how it looked when it arrived from the sign gods for the banking center.
And I lost it.
My manager thought I was insane (I guess I sort of am when it comes to this), and I gesticulated wildly as I explained why this was not only a non-sentence but also riddled with horrifying conventional mistakes.
He tried to tell me it would be fine. I should calm down. I wouldn’t accept putting this horrifying sign up when I knew the difference.
He conceded and let me use white-out on the second comma.
I didn’t get to do anything else.
Someone, I’m sure, also saw that sign and thought it was awful. Right? I’m not the only one?
Or maybe I am.
True dat.
STOP
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