Dining on humble pie
I have said before that working for a small town newspaper means there are lots of folks standing in line to tell me how many mistakes I've made. That bothered me a great deal at first. But after six years, I think I am probably my own worst critic. I have smacked my forehead so many times after the paper has come out that I have lost count.
The opinion column of the past week was another of those moments. Did you notice my big blunder? When I was explaining my thoughts about the placement of the "Submarine Veterans' Memorial Highway" I mentioned that I thought it should have had a spot alongside a body of water like Peugeot Sound. Uh oh
As soon as I saw the words in print, I knew I had done it again.
Man, I hate it when that happens.
That is one of the drawbacks of the spell check feature on a computer, in my most humble opinion. We get sloppy because we think with the computer checking our work, we must be doing all right if there is no wavy red or green line under a word. I am pretty sure neither of the Old Retired Editors would have made that mistake.
No one mentioned it, but that doesn't mean no one caught it. It is my own fault that I make those errors. Not only do I not proof my work carefully enough, but I've probably saddled myself with some really bad karma by feeling smug when I see that kind of error in a big city daily or some slick glossy magazine.
What's that saying, "Pride goeth before a fall?" Yup, that's the one.
I may have to get a big banner to hang on the wall behind my computer that says, "Puget Sound." That way I might remember not to assume I have correctly completed my work just because I am ready to turn it in. A little reminder that the next mistake is lurking just around the corner might not be a bad thing to have.
— SUSAN MARSHALL
