Today’s post is under the heading This Is Embarrassing. I suppose the Shakespeare quote headline is a little obvious and perhaps overblown, but sometimes one can’t resist. At least I shall refrain from ending my post with “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” Then again, no promises.
For the February 2016 issue of Mohawk Valley Living Magazine, I visited the Middleville Free Library. My articles are headlined “The Everyday Adventures of Mohawk Valley Girl,” and the blurb at the end invites readers to follow my “frugal fun” at my blog (you know, here). What could be more frugal and fun than a library? Oh, I suppose some people would consider other things more fun. For more frugal, I suppose you could stay home. But that was not my point.
My point was, I got the library manager’s name wrong. I said it was Sandra Zaffara and it should have been Sandra Zaffarano. I did not realize this until a reader made a comment under my About page here at WordPress. I was mortified. I found the notebook I had with me the day I had visited the library. I had written “Sandra Zaffara.” What was that all about?
This morning, I called the library and apologized to Sandra. She could not have been nicer. She said it was no big deal about the name, a mere typo. One friend had asked if she was in the Witness Protection program, which I thought was pretty funny. Sandra had liked the article in spite of the mistake. She invited me back to the library to see a model made of popsicle sticks she had forgotten to show me. I positively must get the ability to post pictures, so I can include such things in my blog.
My takeaway from this is twofold: Don’t just double-check names, triple-check them (although, in my defense, I think I got any other names I’ve used in MVL articles right). And don’t get bent out of shape if the local newspaper misspells my last name, as it has been known to do. Be like Sandra Zaffarano. Be nice.
By the way, if you get a chance, visit the Middleville Free Library, 1 S. Main St., Middleville, NY, phone number 315-891-3655. They have some cool stuff there. You can read about it in my article in the February article of Mohawk Valley Living.
Mohawk Valley Girl 