Please! Please!! Make it stop!!!

I have a variety of pet peeves in my life. Making it into the top three is an all-too-common form of disregard for the English language commonly referred to as "Apostrophe Abuse." I am amazed at how many apostrophes are carelessly drawn in places they shouldn't be, or how many I am not seeing in places where they clearly should be. And while seeing these shameful errors printed in newspapers, magazines, and on public and professional signs provides me a chance to laugh histerically for a period of time, though it is also enough to make me want to carry a bottle of whiteout and a black magic marker with me at all times. And perhaps a copy of The Elements of Style for the creator of the error.

Where does all of my amusement of, and my occasional slight hostility toward, abuse of the beloved apostrophe come from? Some would argue that my 30 years of having a high school English teacher for a mother would tend to make me more prone to proper grammar and better knowledge of the English language. Perhaps. But my mother can continue to explain to me the proper usage of the words "lie" and "lay" until she is blue in the face. I'll still never remember how to use them correctly. I contend that my appreciation for the apostrophe and its proper (and improper) usage comes from paying attention to things I was taught before I was old enough to drive a car. And from having what I consider to be a pretty darn good sense of humor.

After collecting a few examples over the years of apostrophe abuse, and, sadly, letting too many other examples go unphotographed, never to be seen or fully appreciated again, I decided to start this blog. This way, I can share these abuses, as well as the amusement that comes along with them, with others. Hopefully there are at least a few people out there who can appreciate them as much as I do. And maybe, just maybe, together, we can end the vicious cycle of apostrophe abuse, one bottle of whiteout at a time.