The Demon Misspelled That Word, Not ME!

The White House is looking for peach in the Middle East.
Missippi’s literary program shows improvement.
After an office assistant was told to re-do the brass plaque that read THE BORED ROOM, it was speedily changed to THE BROAD ROOM.

Who could possibly make such mistakes?

The culprit is Tutivillus or Titivillus, a demon under Lucifer’s command, who interfered with a scribe’s work, laying a stealthy claw on the monk’s ink well. He was responsible for Deuteronomy 5’s text reading “Behold the Lord, our God, hath shewed us his glory and his great-asse.”

Later Tutivillus haunted printing presses, causing typesetters to make spelling mistakes or to take out words. He triggered the burning of thousands of hand printed King James versions of the Bible because Exodus 20 read “Thou shalt commit adultery.”

Back in the 1960’s, high school teachers and later college professors might mark down compositions one letter grade for every spelling error. You would never, ever forget receiving an F, and worst case, a G or an H. Before spell-checking apps, we had to look up how to spell something in a hard back dictionary.

April is National Poetry Month established by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is a “world-wide literary celebration with millions of teachers, students, readers, librarians, publishers, booksellers, and poets/writers honoring the importance of poetry in both culture and in our personal lives.” [Two Sylvias Press] The first poems were composed before written language or reading existed.

In the beginning, before women wore pants, men and women commonly wore a belt under their outermost piece of clothing. That belt had hooks and bags attached to it. Now people may carry a handbag or a pocketbook that holds a purse or wallet of credit cards or cosmetic bag or a pen-markers’ case, and most important, their cell phone.

Everything Abraham Lincoln had in his pockets on the night he was assassinated at Ford Theater was given to his wife and kept by the family. His granddaughter sent everything in a small box to the Library of Congress, and then it was left unopened for 40 years. When finally displayed, the pockets had contained: two pairs of eyeglasses, a pocketknife, a linen handkerchief, a watch fob without a watch, a button, a soon-to-be worthless Confederate bill, and an unusual newspaper clipping casting the President in a favorable light.

In Ireland and Britain, it is a tradition that women may propose marriage in leap years, a practice some attribute to Brigid of Kildare in 5th century Ireland. If the man refused, compensation to the disappointed bride consisted of a pair of leather gloves, a single rose, and a kiss.

A woman taking the initiative is  against most world traditions. In Western cultures a marriage proposal is genuflecting in front of the bride to be. The ritual involves the asking of the question “Will you marry me?”” and the presentation of an engagement ring which he may place on her finger if she accepts. The place of the proposal should be special to the couple or beautiful. Catholics may even make the proposals in a chapel or church.

Marriage proposals were historically male dominated. Historically, marriage was a declaration publicly that a man owned the woman and his biological heirs. Consequently, in many countries there is a contract or a written proposal that may be amended before acceptance.

Back in 1900, it was the Teddy bear made popular by Teddy Roosevelt and the Kodak hand-held camera.
In the 1920’s Tinker Toys replaced building blocks.
The 1940’s made popular soldiers and toy guns.
In the 1950’s I remember Mr. Potato Head and Silly Putty.
By the 1970’s my daughters had Nerf Balls and Etch-a Sketch, green Gumby and his orange horse, Pokey.
In the 1980’s Cabbage Patch Kids, Rubik’s cube, Lego, and Care Bears were popular, expensive for parents of kids who wanted all of them.

Have you ever daydreamed about your great memoir, autobiography, or romance?

What would its title be?

Try the last line of one of your telephone conversations. They are surprisingly intriguing:

When I was working on a short story last weekend, I had to look up how to spell the orange-red medicine my family used to keep germs off my frequent skinned knees. It was called Mercurochrome, and it was taken off the market because it contained Mercury. You can’t buy a mercury thermometer to go under your tongue or arm either.

My grandmother used Vicks Salve or Vicks VapoRub, which contains camphor and menthol, for many things. Its vapors would relieve congestion, sooth a cough and sore muscles. It was also a cure for foot fungus, healing rough skin on heels, and repelling mosquitos. When I had a bad cold with asthma, I took a hot bath, wrapped up and got under warm covers. Granny then rubbed my chest with Vicks and put some in a vaporizer on the floor. She put a layer of Vicks on my chest, covered in a warm cloth, and a pile of quilts. By morning I was much better, if not cured.