A friend pointed out the other day how lucky we are to have been born into the English language.

I couldn't agree more.

Although having English as my native tongue allows me certain pleasures, such as laughing at the following: (Courtesy Anguished English by Richard Lederer).

Detour sign in Kyushi, Japan: Stop: Drive Sideways.

In a Belgrade hotel elevator: To move the cabin, push button forwishing floor. If the cabin should enter more persons, each one should press a number of wishing floor. Driving is then going alphabetically by national order.

In a Bangkok dry cleaner's: Drop your trousers here for best results.

Grammar is the one thing someone learning English has an advantage in. They learn everything the proper way.

Pro vs pro

As I sit here sanity is being pulled from me at an alarmingly fast rate.

Articles pour in, some are great, most are not.

After several suggested revisions and multiple attempts to hand hold, one has mashed and mangled sentences, while several paragraphs and quotes - in an already short piece - are repetitious.

Where is the thrill of the story? If I don't care to read it, will the audience?

The only bright light is that, with a few hours of work, anything is better than what is currently on screen.

Another piece also raises eyebrows. The submitted tome is questionable and leaves me fearing copyright infringement.

After discussion, the light is still not seen and since it is already too late to reject it, the only solution is to fix the parts that are known to be wrong.

Keyword: known.

I am struggling to understand how a writing-pro and a pro-who-writes can both submit equally disastrous pieces. Given their backgrounds both should know better.

A third is finally turning around and actually seems inspired this time! Feeling glad for giving a guiding hand on this one and plan to do the same from now on. Perhaps too much freedom was a bad thing here.

Deadlines are looming and feeling under prepared.