Fight the Good Fite (ha ha!)

Apparently, Fitfreak and I aren't the only ones peeved by cutesy signs and GRIEVOUS misspellings! I read in the Boston Globe today that there are two men traveling across country trying to fix signs with spelling and grammatical errors. Armed with white-out, markers, ink, pens and tape, Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson are traveling to California and back, moving apostrophes and making sure that everyone gets their just desserts (NOT DESERTS!)

"I figured, Steinbeck had his dog and Kerouac had his drugs. I'd have my typos," said the 28-year-old Deck of what he calls his Typo Hunt Across America tour.

My other favorite quote from Deck was this: It's easy to overlook and dismiss the misuse of apostrophes," he said. "But there came a point when I couldn't hold it anymore. I decided to make this a national campaign, although I was kind of looking for an excuse to travel around the country anyway."

I watched "Into The Wild" on the return plane trip from London (YES, I"M STILL TALKING ABOUT MY TRIP!) If you're not familiar with this film, it is based on the book of the same name about a young man named Christopher McCandless (aka Alexander Supertramp. Why name yourself after one of the LAMEST bands in 70's music???) Upon his college graduation, McCandless decided to give away what was left of his college fund to Oxfam, BURNED all of his pocket cash, ditched his car, and then, without any communication with his parents or sister, hitchhiked around the United States (not to mention illegally entering and exiting Mexico) and then had the monumentally brainless idea to hike out into the Alaskan Wilderness and live off the land.

A noble endeavor? A fool's errand? I can appreciate McCandless' idea of rejecting his affluent upbringing and wanting to lead a life of meaning. Unfortunately, he died alone in a broken down bus, trapped and starving in the Alaskan wilderness. (according to the Boston Globe movie review, apparently many Alaskans view McCandless as an "...idiot of classic proportions".

All that, and the bus where McCandless died has become a tourist attraction.

This got me thinking. When my children are old enough to leave the nest (thank God, that's a good 8-10 years away!) would I want them to pursue a life less shallow, as Christopher McCandless did, or would I want them hunting for stray typos and apostrophes across this great nation?

I'm willing to pay for the white-out myself.


Check out the link above to see Deck and Herson's trip across country.