I see it everywhere, and it drives me downright crazy.
I’m speaking, of course, of apostrophe crime.
Back in the day, it seems to me, most people were on the right side of the punctuation law. They understood what contractions are. They totally got possessives.
Not so much anymore. Apostrophe crime is rampant. And it’s time the rules were enforced.
Just last week, I was on my way to work. The bus pulled up to a stop, which was located in front of a furniture store.
“Sofa’s and sofa bed’s for sale,” said the sign above the window.
I felt my face getting hot. No one else seemed perturbed.
Had I not been running a few minutes late for work, I might have jumped off the bus, run inside the store and asked the owner what gives.
Some people may think I’m overreacting, even to the point of being an apostrophe nut.
I remain unapologetic.
Sadly, apostrophe crime is everywhere — everywhere!
Two weeks back, I stepped inside a luncheon spot in search of a bite.
The menu board informed me that the place had a range of offerings, including “pizzas,” “salad’s” and “BLT’s.”
What the heck, I thought? How was it that no apostrophe crime had been committed when it came to the pizzas, but there’d been offences with the other stuff?
I ordered a cheese and pepperoni, and left the diner fuming.
It happens every day.
Take one Saturday not long ago. The husband and I were out for a walk. We paused to read a garage sale notice that was tacked to a telephone poll.
As a rule, I tend to like garage sales, so I noted the time and place.
“We have a variety of item’s,” the notice informed me. “Everything from vintage record’s to classic book’s.”
For a moment, I pondered going to the sale, simply to give the vendors a piece of my mind. I decided against it. As much as I love classic books, there was no way I was going to exchange my hard-earned cash for anything — even if it happened to be a first-edition copy of Great Expectations.
“Should I correct the sign?” I asked the husband, pulling out a pen.
“No!” he said. “Leave it be!”
“OK,” I said, shaking my head and muttering under my breath.
We wandered away. We would definitely give this event a pass, I told the husband.
While I rather like those garage sales, I never go to sale’s.
