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9/23/10

I've Got Your Embarrassing Moment Right Here

I have a couple of questions before discussing the next topic in Sara's 30-day challenge:

1. I used the phrase "get under my crawl" yesterday. However, last night I was reading and the phrase "gets in my caw" was used. Which one is correct?

2. If you are my friend on Facebook, you may have seen this last night...
Yesterday, I saw a sign on an eye doctor's office that read,
"1 in 4 children has a vision problem."

It is my contention that the sign should read,
"1 in 4 children have a vision problem."

One of my teacher friends commented that the sign is correct. The subject of the sentence is 1 (one) so the verb should be plural (has).

My problem with the sign as it stands is the word children. So, if the emphasis is on the one child, shouldn't the sign read,
"1 child out of 4 has a vision problem?"

I guess what my real question should be is,
"Am I obsessing too much over grammar?"

Now on to an embarrassing incident in high school, because embarrassing myself as an adult in an open forum isn't enough for one day.

Day 9 of Sara's Challenge:

It was my senior year, late August of 1992. I had already missed my first period but did not really believe that I could be pregnant. After losing thirty pounds over the summer, and the excitement of the year, I thought perhaps I finally got lucky and was just skipping a month.

Even though a month had not been skipped since the very first appearance over seven years prior.

I finally got up the nerve to tell my mom that I suspected that she was "going to be a grandma." Those were my words to her. She still hasn't forgiven me for telling her that way.

My mom worked in the cafeteria of our high school. For the next several days, she'd come and ask me, "Did you start yet?" By this time, I was missing my second period.

Nope.

Meanwhile, another girl was also pregnant. She already knew and had no qualms about telling everyone in listening distance. I believe there was a two-day discussion of her condition in our English class. I wondered why she was so proud.

We finally found out that I was indeed pregnant. Since my mom thought I would be due too close to graduation, my parents decided that I needed to graduate early. I only lacked my English and Government credit. The only way to do that was to withdrawal from the high school I was attending, and go to another high school that offered that alternative. I went to school four nights a week, taking four classes, and graduated that December.

I also worked at the Hardee's in town. With all of my friends from high school. My friends were supportive, but my life had suddenly changed. I didn't feel like everyone else anymore.
I think the hardest for me was when they graduated that May.

Anyway, that was probably the most embarrassing thing that happened to me in high school. It was still a big deal for a girl to get pregnant in the early 90s, at least in Smalltown, Indiana where I lived.

2 comments:

Rachel said...

The sign is right. Sorry 'bout that.

The grammar thing that gets me is on captions for FB pictures. "Mom and I at the theater." Or "This is my best friend and I." It should be "Mom and me at the theater" and it's SO hard to convince people of this.

Why does it matter to me? I have NO earthly idea.

Sara @ Life With the Two said...

I have no idea if it's crawl or caw. However, I grew up in Indiana, and I'm convinced that state is the most northern of the southern states.

And the sign bugs you because it LOOKS wrong, even though it is correct. It's one thing to say it out loud, but on paper, proper grammar doesn't always appear to be correct.

Also? I am mad at you because I can't get that stupid John Mellonhead song out of my head now. I was born in a small town, and I live in a small town. (FYI ~ He does NOT live in a small town, he lives in Bloomington. Nor is his house pink.)

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