Grammar Checking Graffiti on Eads Bridge

The last four months I’ve gone out on the Eads Bridge numerous times, thanks to the accessibility of the Missouri end of the pedestrian walkway finally getting fixed. I’ve also crossed the Mississippi River a couple of times to visit the Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park, with its geyser & lookout tower.

I tend to ignore graffiti on my trips on the bridge, too much else I’d rather focus on. But one day a grouping of graffiti caught my eye on a lookout point as I was photographing the Arch & river.

But above this was something offensive, for a couple of reasons.

I’ve been blogging for nearly 16 years now, regular readers are aware I routinely make grammatical errors. I acknowledge I make mistakes. That said, I know the apostrophe is used to indicate  possession, a contraction, and in some cases plurality. Obviously this person, perhaps 29-year-old Joe Joe, doesn’t understand the difference. Grammerly has a good explanation here, TED has a good video here.

I couldn’t let this mistake continue, so I brought a big black marker on my next two visits.

If you’re going to graffiti something at least make sure you use the apostrophe correctly.

Again, I’m fully aware there are likely examples in my writing over the last 15+ years where I’ve used the apostrophe incorrectly. My doing so doesn’t interfere with your photography.

— Steve Patterson