5/23/08 Freaky Friday (or Momma Quirk’s Pet Peeves)

I figure I have whittled the readership down to a few family and friends so I decided to vent on a topic or two. Fewer readers mean fewer people I might totally alienate for the Quirk.

1. People Thinking Southerners Are Stupid. I probably haven’t helped this idea with the last four posts but it burns my britches for people to characterize a whole region of people because of where they live or their accents. I’ve never had much of an accent (at least while I was younger) and countless people from other parts of this great country have shared with me how slow and ignorant they regard people of the South (at least until they find out I was born and raised here). My mother can take any one syllable word and make it three syllables in short order but you’ve never met a smarter, more competent woman and mother. She is 81 and still goes through books of crossword puzzles like a buzz saw. She raised four children to be law-abiding, tax-paying, contributing members of society while my father worked morning, noon and night to clothe, shelter and educate us. How could anyone characterize them as stupid because of where they live?!
2. Nouns followed by Pronouns. Now this IS stupid. All have learned in school not to follow a noun with its pronoun. For example: The Quirk, she is on vacation. Yuk. But for some strange reason, the media has decided it is the way to present their stories. Newscasters, sportscasters, style-casters and weather people have been heard breaking this basic grammar rule. And, now that I have pointed it out to you, you will probably notice them doing it too and be as disgusted as I.
3. Road Rage. Did we not settle this issue in kindergarten? Everyone has to be able to play with the toys in a fair way; everyone has to drive on the roads in a fair way. My suggestion is to send road rage offenders back to kindergarten so they can see how closely their behavior resembles that of the children. Then keep them there until they learn how to play/drive fairly.
4. Labeling does not equal OCD. My motto is "A Place for Everything and Everything In Its Place." I’m very good with the first part but pretty lousy with the second part. In an effort to make it easy on who ever is living in the house at the time, I like to label where items go. Not everywhere. Just in the pantry. And in the garage. And in the craft room. And in the laundry room. And my closet. Hold it right there! I know what you’re thinking! I AM NOT OCD! I don’t trace the outline of the item. Anymore. When the kids were small, and my label gun was new, I labeled the pantry in our house so the kids could put away the groceries and anyone could see what we were low on before going to the store. Logical, right? Organized, right?! But when our realtor was showing the house, a woman had the unmitigated gall to suggest to her that the owner was OCD because of the labels. The nerve! I just bet she wished her house was as organized and her kids were as capable as mine!

Well, I could go on but I only promised a peeve or two and I’ve already doubled that. Proof that you get what you pay for when you come to Quirkyland!

I’ve enjoyed guest blogging this week. I just wish the Task Master Quirk hadn’t wanted all the entries before she left so I could have responded to comments and queries (okay, so there may not be any…yet. Don’t make me write my own!)

Ya’ll pass the word that it’s safe to come back to the site on Monday. You know there will be stories of Quirky’s quirky vacation. I, for one, can’t wait!