A Few Choice Words
The other day, Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) went on television to put the smackdown on young people who are not practicing social distancing. She made the point that “asymmetric” people are spreaders of COVID-19, the virus that is doing so much damage worldwide. It is clear she meant to say “asymptomatic.” She made a reasonable mistake, she simply misspoke. There isn’t much of a story there.
I am banging on my keyboard because Sen. McSally’s misstep reminded me of something that happened a few years ago. It is one thing to misplace one word with another when speaking; it is quite another when the mistake is made in print. Consider this:
In June of 2015, the East Oregonian, an otherwise fine newspaper, published THAT headline about ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte. I saw it then, and I am still laughing about it now. I am glad the editors were overworked on that day.
I don’t have a lot more to say about this other than I never thought I would encounter an amphibious human, let alone one who is a major league pitcher. As for Venditte, the last I heard, he lost a tough outing. He was outdueled, outclassed, and outpitched by Aquaman.
