The weirdest, most insignificant moments get lodged in my brain from time to time.
For instance, one time, when Lou and I were “living in Monterey” during the real-life Imposition Tour, we went to Whole Foods to buy a tiny bit of food. We were out of coffee, so when there was a sign by the entrance that read, “Local Coffee 50% Off,” that news had our attention.
When we got inside the store, there was a young Whole Foods worker wearing an apron. She was appropriately tatted up, and I remember she had frizzy blonde dreadlocks pulled up and away from her face. As soon as I saw her, I wanted to make sure we found those magic coffee beans that were on sale, so I asked her for some guidance.
“Excuse me, Miss,” I said, “do you know anything about the coffee that’s on sale today?”
“Oh yes,” she said. “It’s right over there.”
She pointed to a huge end-cap display of LOCAL coffee, but it all looked like it was still in bean form. We didn’t have a bean grinder where we were living, so I asked the girl a follow-up question:
“Is the sale for coffee beans only?”
“I’m not sure, but I think it’s all already grinded…?” she offered up, leaving me to wonder if she was questioning her grammar or the status of the coffee beans.
Now, at least four years (or maybe more) later, whenever I’m making or buying coffee, I can’t stop myself from thinking about that exchange! It was almost like a verbal car-crash that left a huge dent in my mind — however, it’s not a traumatic dent, but rather, one that makes me giggle every time. It was such an insignificant exchange, yet it left a truly lasting impression on me.
I was thinking about “The Girl with the Grinded Tattoo” this morning as I was refiling our coffee dispenser, and it hit me that for me, at least, words really do matter. And even though I know I make mistakes in my writing and with my grammar all the time, too, I really do care about such things.
I have this grammar checking program on my computer that runs everything I write through a check, and at the end of each week, I get an email with a recap of my errors and how my grammar ranks among other app users. I know it’s super nerdy, but I’m pumped that my average score is 97%, and, my word usage statistics have recently reached a four week high of 99%!
I know I still make tons of mistakes, and the fact that my grammar software is counting down my average this week because I’ve ignored the repeated correction of the word “grinded” now four times is a wee bit bothersome. My memory of the Whole Foods girl is bringing down my grammar average this week, but maybe in some ways, we all do that to the English language when we don’t care about the words we use!
But wait…
It’s one thing to have a tracker on my writing, but what it there was a tracker on my mouth?! And what if it tracked things like, “wasted words,” or “helpful versus unhelpful statements” on a daily basis? Or what if it tracked things like “lies, white lies, half-truths, platitudes, honesty, and kindness” every time I opened my mouth? Would I get a very high score among other users of the mouth tracker app? Would my word usage range be something to feel happy about, or would I be sad to see how often I say unedifying words on a regular basis?
