Let Us Watch Our Mouths...In The Elevator

Have you ever been embarrassed beyond belief ...for someone else?  The most embarrassed I have ever been for a complete stranger occurred in an elevator.  I was living in Chicago and my commute included a slow and quiet elevator ride to the top of an office building before entering my cubicle.

The monotony of a commute can cause most of us to miss occurrences only observed by newcomers.  You know,  the ones that face a new journey with a smile and enthusiasm.  For most,  jam packed vehicles have a steady purpose.  They deliver us safely and quietly to our personal work space.  We enter, stare at the ascending numbers on the steel wall, or at our shoes as if we are checking for loose strings.  Passengers look up or down but never at each other.

On this day, there was little movement.  As we all enjoyed the last stretch, I secured a nice space close to the doors on the far right.  This insured no view of bad threads or balding heads.  There would be no

Wrong Word!

No time for diplomacy.  Do you wish someone had pulled you aside years ago and said, "I don't think that's a word"?

Since most people will not let you know, I will. See if any of these words sound familiar. I'll start with the ones I hear most often.  These are NOT real words.  This brief article is not intended to address vernacular or urban slang.  We'll do that another time.

• Alls - Alls I was asking for was a little help.
• Chimley - There is a working fireplace in the house with a beautiful chimley.
• Acrosst/Acrossed - Today, we have record temperatures  acrosst/acrossed the country.
• Aholt- I have aholt of the pony and she is not getting away.
• Irregardless - I will insist that this is not a word irregardless of what you report.
• Importantly - Most importantly, I want to stress this.  ---(tricky) adverb/adjectives are acceptable
• Bullnoser - Lucky for him, he did not have to dig the ditch manually.  He had a big bullnoser.
• Theys - They are no longer here.  Theys left and will not be back.

And from Jodi Ambrose's Blog - I love Jodi's explanation....
*Boughten: "No one has ever “boughten” anything. Ever. Period. You either buy something or you have bought something. You have never boughten anything in your life."

If your family or friends that use words above, perhaps you forward this short article as something you found amusing.

Hope

*Jodi Ambrose

Tattoo Now, Career Later?

Carissa's Mom writes....Hope,  Please give me some advice.  My daughter is 18 and some of her friends are getting "ink".  She has drawn numerous designs of butterflies and would like to take them to an artist.  She cannot understand why I insist this is a horrible idea and says that I am just old fashioned.

She told me that she is going to get a tattoo with, or without, my approval.  How can I convince her that this is a bad idea and her career will be limited if she does this?  I am not fond of any tattoos and have always associated  them with a lower class of trashy people.

Carissa's Mom.

Dear Carissa's Mom:  Let me say this as delicately as possible.  While I personally do not have any

What's Sexy For A First Date?

On February 21 Single Gal in Detroit emails and asks:

Dear Hope:  My friends and I can't seem to agree on dressing for a first date.  I would like to wear something sexy enough to get his attention and subtle enough to make him want to see more.  My friends insist that I should show no skin on my first date.  What do you think?

Dear Single Gal in Detroit:  While this question is asked often, and by many, IMHO here are my thoughts.