My maternal grandmother, Georgia Lee (King) Stringer, had to quit school in the sixth grade and go to work as a house cleaner to help make ends meet for her family. “Mam-ma” didn’t have a great education; however, she always did the best she could. And, as a child, she contracted scarlet fever which left her a bit hard of hearing.
Because of these things, she didn’t always pronounce words correctly. For instance, instead of saying “jalapeno” with an “h” sound (as “j”s are pronounced in Spanish), she’d say “jalapeno” with the “j” sound like in the word “jalopy.”
She’d also use the malapropism of pet “pea” instead of pet peeve to describe something that irritated her like “Not cutting the strings off celery, Pam, is my pet pea.” I’d simply smile and cut off the celery strings when I was helping in her kitchen.
That memory came to mind this week as I cut up some celery sticks, minus the strings, for my lunch and it got me thinking about my own pet “peas”.
So, in no particular order, here are my top pet “peas”:
Cilantro in salsa. (Yes, I’m one of those people for whom cilantro tastes like soap!)
Hearing someone overuse the word “like” as in “I was, like, so happy that I, like, got first place in the contest, like, I felt like I was, like, floating on air.”
Loud music in public places, especially repetitive notes, melodies, or verses
Limp handshakes
Not receiving a thank note, call, or even a text from someone to whom I’ve given a gift
How about you? What are your top pet “peas”? Let me know in the comments.