Month: November 2023

Warning – a sad story follows with some vehement commentary about it.

I volunteer for my city’s animal shelter, and specifically, I walk dogs. I only do this once a week, but I also do other miscellaneous things as well. Not that any of this matters, but what does matter is what follows.

Mabel was an adorable, young-ish mixed breed dog who quickly became a favorite among volunteers and staff. She was friendly, fun, and always happy to go out on her twice-daily walks. Because of her joyous and delightful personality,  Mabel was quickly adopted. Mabel was then quickly returned.

Here’s the story.

Mabel went to live with her new owner who had a roommate. One day the roommate took Mabel out for a walk. During the course of the walk, Mabel bit someone. This was not Mabel’s fault, it was the fault of the stupid humans who were supposed to be taking care of her.

Mabel needed a serious decompression period. She needed to adjust to her new home and humans. She needed to be protected until it was clear how she would react to people, places, things, and kids. No one knows the details of Mabel’s story, but we do know she is back, and her future does not look bright.

I am crying as I write this. There is a good chance Mabel will be euthanized between now and my next visit to the shelter.

Sorry kind readers, but I am not a fan of great portions of the human race, and Mabel is just one example why.

You know those little plastic things you have to pull off of milk and other cartons to open them? Everytime I pull off one of those things, I get angry thinking of all the harm just that little piece of plastic can potentially do to both domestic pets and wildlife.

And then there are the myriad other plastic hazards that are part of our everyday life! I feel guilty that I do not stop using the products that present danger, but the issue is, they are everywhere! I know I cannot directly affect the huge piles of plastic-based garbage that suffocate our oceans, but I can do something about the plastic hazards that threaten my dogs.

Following are a number of hazards that arise from the use of plastic and plastic packaging.

Choking

Everytime I pull off one of those small plastic pieces on cartons of milk or juice, I think about the potential danger should one of my dogs get ahold of it.

Intestinal Blockage

An intestinal blockage is serious and can be fatal if not treated quickly. I once had a pug who ingested something that almost killed him. Fortunately, a good animal surgeon removed a pinecone from his intestines.

Chemicals

Plastic packaging often contains chemicals that can affect a pet’s hormones causing growth, development and reproductive health issues.

Entrapment

Imagine: you are out for the afternoon, and you have left your normally trustworthy dog alone in the house. You come home to find his nose had found its way into one of the holes in the plastic packaging used to hold 6-packs of your favorite beverage together. Although he is panting, both from having his breathing restricted and his anxiety of being trapped, it turns out that after lots of cuddles and a few treats, he is okay. You are lucky.

What Can You Do?

Short of forever refusing to purchase products packaged in plastic, here are a few more practical things you can do:

• Look for products packaged from recyled materials or cardboard.
• Use airtight containers to store foods.
• Be mindful of how you dispose of plastic: cut up any packaging that can strangle or choke wildlife.
• Be vigilant about the potential dangers of plastic packaging for your pets.

Okay, I will be the first to admit that I make a good number of grammar mistakes myself. However, that’s not to say that I don’t firmly believe that in this day of emoticons and abbreviations, we need to preserve this beautiful language of ours.

All through school, I was one of those nerdy kids who LOVED grammar! I loved learning the rules, and God knows there enough rules in grammar. I loved putting words together in proper context. I loved understanding the differences among past tense, past participle tense, past perfect tense, and so on. Would you believe there are 15 verb tenses in English?  This is an excellent academic resource for many grammar issues.

In teaching college writing classes for 25 years, it became disheartening to see the writing skills, or lack thereof, of so many students. The dilemma became how to teach writing and grammar without boring students to death because unless you are a nerd like me, grammar lessons can be deadly.

So, what is the answer?

The solution is not easy. What we do need is for respected and esteemed leaders in business and education to place powerful emphasis on the importance of good grammar and writing. This then means equipping them with excellent writing skills and the ability to recognize the same, or not, in students and subordinates.

Think for a moment. How do you rate your writing? What are your biggest writing challenges? How can you improve your writing?

I am taking the liberty of including a lesson I used in my classes in college, and I’d love to hear what you think!