By Staff
Is it too much to ask?
I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and a crispy chicken sandwich. Both were in different boxes marked with the words grilled or crispy.
I have already left the drive-through lane and it was too late to go back when I discovered both sandwiches were identical. Both were crispy.
Fast food. The unseen people behind the voice in those speakers can have a hard time hearing, but I had read my order on the screen and it had been received correctly.
Somewhere went wrong between the orderand preparer.
A few days before, I had a taste for my favorite combination pizza – a thin and crispy with mushrooms and sausage.
Funny, the pizza in the box was a thick crust, or I believe they call it hand-tossed. I was extremely disappointed.
Granted, the restaurant under the red roof immediately credited me a whole pizza for their mistake.
Don't think I don't make mistakes. Mine are very obvious and are printed to last until the newspaper is recycled or stuck in the birdcage, or under shavings for the gerbils.
Forgetting an "s" at the end of a word, reversing letters and using the wrong tense happens all too often and isn't always easy to see by the person proofreading.
Sometimes our minds even seem to add the missing letter, or let us read the sentence and not see the mistake.
I know I am not alone making spelling or grammar mistakes.
Just a few weeks ago, I saw the word "Valentine" misspelled on a big sign outside a restaurant. Next door, the gas station in Niles was selling "trial guides." I can only assume they meant snowmobiles trail guides.
We first learned our eldest could read when he started reciting billboards and signs when we traveled.
Maybe the people who put up signs should first check their dictionaries so other budding readers learn the correct spelling.
I am afraid kids today will find it impossible to spell when they aren't using their computer and spell check.
The same thing goes for math.
I have been at a restaurant when the computerized cash register wasn't working. The sales cashier wasn't able to count out the customer's change. She couldn't figure it out.
Everyone is so used to handing over whatever the register said the correct change should be.
I wonder if all the computer use, along with text messaging, will have an influence on how young people of today are able to relate to others.
I probably shouldn't worry. Thanks to our Intermediate School Districts, in both Cass and Berrien counties, there continue to be contests to test the students abilities in spelling, math and science.
Through the efforts of the ISDs and the many teachers and parents who volunteer to help, students from the area schools enjoy a day away from their regular classes. They are able to meet their peers from other schools and compete for the honor of being the best.
Congratulations go to Jordan Harper, a seventh grader at Brandywine, who is competing for a state title, following his second place in the individual math competition at Lake Michigan College.
Good luck also to the students in the upcoming contests at Southwestern Michigan College.