Mock Punctuation All You Like
But even when making fun of the way the signmaker at the police department misuses (OVER uses, actually) "quotation" "marks," it is still a good idea to pay attention to the underlying message.
The LAPD (and probably other police departments around the country) has been running a campaign called "LOCK IT" "HIDE IT" "KEEP IT" in an effort to cut down on theft and vandalism. A lighted sign I see regularly, for instance, flashes the instructions to me to "LOCK" my home and vehicle, "HIDE" my valuables, and "KEEP" my possessions.
And while it was all well and good to mock their overenthusiastic use of quotation marks, I should have also heeded the basic message.
Instead, on Monday afternoon, I parked in broad daylight in what looked like a nice, quiet suburban neighborhood to go into one of the smaller Hollywood studios for an audition. Being too lazy to bother simply taking in my brand-new backpack, which contained the better part of my life (laptop, camera, internet connector, wallet, cash, credit cards, checks ready to be deposited, bills ready to be mailed, etc., etc., ETC.), I simply shoved my driver's license and cellphone into a pocket and stashed the bag on the floor of the car, surrounded by trash and empty reusable bags and partially hidden by a jacket on a hanger suspended in the passenger-seat window behind the driver's seat, but still visible if you looked in the window. Dumb. Stupid. Careless.
When I returned to my car (not having booked the job, by the way), the first thing I saw was a smattering of glass all over the ground next to the car.
I have spent the rest of this week trying to reconstruct, replace, repair, and restore the damage and loss...not to mention trying to deal with the feeling of utter stupidity on my part.
Glad I still had my phone and license, glad I had a different credit card in my lockbox at home along with a bit of cash, glad I wasn't there to be smashed in along with my car window, glad it all wasn't worse.
But still. Will no longer "mock" the signmakers. Oy, oy, and oy vey.
The LAPD (and probably other police departments around the country) has been running a campaign called "LOCK IT" "HIDE IT" "KEEP IT" in an effort to cut down on theft and vandalism. A lighted sign I see regularly, for instance, flashes the instructions to me to "LOCK" my home and vehicle, "HIDE" my valuables, and "KEEP" my possessions.
And while it was all well and good to mock their overenthusiastic use of quotation marks, I should have also heeded the basic message.
Instead, on Monday afternoon, I parked in broad daylight in what looked like a nice, quiet suburban neighborhood to go into one of the smaller Hollywood studios for an audition. Being too lazy to bother simply taking in my brand-new backpack, which contained the better part of my life (laptop, camera, internet connector, wallet, cash, credit cards, checks ready to be deposited, bills ready to be mailed, etc., etc., ETC.), I simply shoved my driver's license and cellphone into a pocket and stashed the bag on the floor of the car, surrounded by trash and empty reusable bags and partially hidden by a jacket on a hanger suspended in the passenger-seat window behind the driver's seat, but still visible if you looked in the window. Dumb. Stupid. Careless.
When I returned to my car (not having booked the job, by the way), the first thing I saw was a smattering of glass all over the ground next to the car.
I have spent the rest of this week trying to reconstruct, replace, repair, and restore the damage and loss...not to mention trying to deal with the feeling of utter stupidity on my part.
Glad I still had my phone and license, glad I had a different credit card in my lockbox at home along with a bit of cash, glad I wasn't there to be smashed in along with my car window, glad it all wasn't worse.
But still. Will no longer "mock" the signmakers. Oy, oy, and oy vey.