Pet Peeves of Writing and Expected Mothers

Grammar may seem like an old-fashioned concept.  It doesn't sound fun, unless like me, you enjoyed diagramming sentences in grade school. It sounds serious and perhaps tedious to some of us. For a generation growing up using acronyms as the key to text communication, it can be downright painful. BrB and r u there are mainstays. However, the lack of grammar is what is truly painful.  It is painful for the eyes to see.

One of the most excruciating examples I have seen is in a church parking lot. The church will remain nameless, to protect the innocent. On three parking spots close to the entrance, clearly painted in capital letters are the words, "EXPECTED MOTHERS."

I have looked at those words since 2002 and cringe every time I see it.  What does it really mean?  I do mental gymnastics trying to justify and determine how it came to be.  Did the painter misunderstand the words?  Did the contractor hear the instructions wrong?  Or, did they all think they were correct? Had someone written it and not seen the error of their ways?  And, just what is an "expected mother?"  Do I qualify because I have children and am expected to go to church?   Or, are they trying to give pregnant women a shorter walk to the service? Why do these questions keep flowing through my brain?
I hope the painting was not terribly expensive, but since it has not been corrected, it likely was.

Consider this, besides giving life to my pet peeve and writing this blog, what does bad grammar and poor writing skills cost us?  A recent article in the Huffington Post tells us it is quite expensive. The site merits attention, especially by students who think writing is as easy as texting or talking. Check out the article in full detail at huffingtonpost.com.  Basically, the article affirms that bad grammar does cost us.  It costs us money because better writers are paid more, make less mistakes, and perform better at their jobs. And the folks at grammarly know about  grammar and fun.  I became aware of them through their hysterical posts on facebook.  I am certain you will find one that connects with you at facebook.com/grammarly

So perhaps diagramming sentences and religiously spelling words correctly is a practice which should continue.. Perhaps  LOL, OMG and IDK could be replaced by reading more classics and creating essays of which we can be proud. Need inpsiration or help to get started?  Visit .grammarly.com/ and they'll review your prose in seconds and make worthy suggestions.  You can prevent grammatical errors! It's radical! Actually, it's just a thought I had before I leave. Now I need to drive to church and grab one of those close parking spots.


 

Googling the family name....Veteran's Day Delight

                                             

Veteran's Day. A day of memory.  A day of reflection. An emotional day for some, a regular day for others.

As I reflected on Veteran's Day, I thought about the three veterans I knew best. After thanking them in a prayer for their service,  I decided to google their names just to see what would appear on my computer screen.

First,  I googled John Dalhaimer and Joseph Dalhaimer. John, the uncle I never knew, died in World War II in Saipan. Often there is new information online for him but I didn't see anything unusual.  Joseph, my dad, has a number of links but the most dominant one was the 'find a grave" site.

Then I searched for Stanley Bartkowski. I don't often google my father-in-law's name because he died in 1985 long before the internet was commonplace, before personal computers were household items, before and before cell phones were common. And, he lived a full life without those things. Stan was a great sports fan, particularly fond of baseball and football.  I can't remember a time when the television was not broadcasting a sport event at his house.

The photograph of him in his Texarkana baseball shown above hangs in my office.  He played minor league baseball and who knows how far he could have gone with his career but for a fateful event on December 7, 1941.

I was intrigued when a number of links actually pertained to the man I knew. The one that intrigued me most was baseball-reference.com

Perhaps the folks at baseball reference.com realized that baseball is a huge element of family history.  Perhaps they knew the stories of men of Stan's generation needed to be remembered. Perhaps they knew the oral history passed down to the next generation needed documentation, Whatever the reason, after a quick glance at their baseballs records, I discovered the information was in depth and fascinating to review. Especially for Stan Bartkowski, Sr.

Baseball reference shows that at 21 years of age, Stan was playing for Lubbock in the West Texas New Mexico league,  He played 128 games with a .266 batting average. Not bad for a kid from Wisconsin.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR

1941

21

Lubbock

WTNM

D

CHW

128

492

131

28

6

7

But that was the summer of 1941. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, everyone in the United States experienced  change. Fierce patriotism fueled many young men to join the war effort. By 1942 Stan was in the Army in Walnut Creek, California.  His beloved Alice Grayson traveled to meet him there and they were married on November 8 before he left for overseas.

Then we have the gap.  For five years he was away from the minor leagues while he served his country.  Sure, he had a chance to pick up a bat and glove on occasion when in the Army, but the time spent away always begs the question: What if?

His baseball career resumed in 1946 when he played for 3 teams and moved up from C to AA status. From Texarkana to Vicksburg, Shreveport to Kilgore, Lufkin to Paris.  Paris, Texas that is. Where on June 28, 1950, his twin children were born.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	G		AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA

1946

26

3 Teams

3 Lgs

C-B-AA

CHW

102

312

80

19

1

8

.256

1946

26

Texarkana

ETXL

C

CHW

60

181

46

11

1

3

.254

1946

26

Vicksburg

SEAL

B

31

101

29

8

0

4

.287

1946

26

Shreveport

TL

AA

CHW

11

30

5

0

0

1

.167

1947

27

Kilgore

LONE

C

131

499

160

29

9

13

.321

1948

28

Lufkin

LONE

C

139

519

156

32

2

12

.301

1949

29

Paris

ETXL

C

137

537

186

35

12

9

.346

1950

30

Paris

ETXL

C

62

231

81

18

1

9

.351

1952

32

Pampa

WTNM

C

62

230

67

9

0

9

.291

1954

34

Ponca City

WA

C

23

80

17

3

0

1

.213

Despite strong hitting skills throughout his career, the travel, the time away from his hometown and the responsibility of raising three children helped change his mind about the baseball life. He returned to Milwaukee where he worked at Pabst Brewery, and ultimately spent most of his years at Falk Corporation, a major manufacturer of gears.

Family stories tell this tale, but finding the baseball records to back it up after an unlikely google search on Veteran's Day is a rare treat. Baseball reference.com has made the difference by capturing Stan's statistics and posting them online. What a delightful way to memorialize one of our our deserving veterans.