WORDS ARE MY BUSINESS. So when I see a misspelled word, I can’t ignore it.
I tried. I was going to give them time to change the spelling before publishing this post. But I waited several weeks, and that’s long enough to correct the error.
So the other night while waiting at a stoplight in Faribault, I snapped this image of signage at the Community Co-op Oil Association through the passenger car window. I’m aware that the photo isn’t razor sharp. I didn’t have much time to pull my camera from the bag and fire two shots at a slow shutter speed before the light changed.
Do you see the spelling mistake? Does it jump off the sign at you?
Yes, “purchase” is incorrectly spelled as “PURCHASH.”
I admit that the creative spelling seems fitting if you delete the first “H,” making it “PURCASH.”
Did I tell you I once earned runner-up status to represent Vesta Elementary School at the Redwood County spelling bee? My friend Robin beat me in a spelldown. I’ve never quite gotten over that defeat.
(I sincerely hope that I’ve correctly spelled every word in this blog post.)
© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Thith must have been done by a person wif a speech impedement! He simplly spelled it as it sounds
Not to make light of speech impediments because I’ve always struggled with pronouncing “ch” and “sh” words, but Randy makes a good point. The English language can be a bit fickle and difficult. Words are not always spelled as they sound.
Audrey, you should enter the adult spelling bee which is a new event at the Rice County Fair this year.
I read about the county spelling bee at the fair, Virgil. I hate to say this, but my days of wanting to compete in a spelldown are, well, behind me. I would get too nervous.
I imagine they ran out of E’s with the free and the coffee, but that’s no excuse!
I’m right there with you, taking pictures of spelling mistakes. Somewhere around here I have images of a plaque given by the USMC to a church in Wellington, New Zealand. Engraved in the top couple of lines, it says that we gave them the plague.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who photographs spelling errors on signs. But the “plague?” That’s a good one!
Probably the funniest spelling error I’ve seen was a neon sign on the window of a diner that read “Joe’s dinner.” However, since I didn’t go into the place to check it out, maybe they were only selling dinners by Joe. One never knows.