Affiction

How important is good spelling?

Well, bad spelling can lead an imaginative mind down both amusing and abstract paths.
I'll show you...

At least three times I've seen a guy in the neighborhood wearing a tshirt that says on the back: AFFICTION.
Every time I see the misspelling across his back I want to correct it. But since I know such a conversation is never going to happen, I begin to think...
What if it isn't a misspelling?
What if it's a message someone was trying to send?
Such as:

Affection is a fiction.

Or maybe:

Affection is an affliction.

Perhaps there was a deeper message intended other than someone just misspelling a clothing brand name.
Maybe it's only me who wonders about these things.

Earlier this week I was asked to proofread something for someone. It was giving instructions for framing a good shot with your camera. One of the sentences read, "Make sure your subject doesn't have a poll running through his head."
For me, this sentence conjured up the image of a man thinking about the latest Gallup survey data and not paying any attention to the instructions of the photographer.
Ha.
A "pole" through his head would have been a much different image.

Ah, Spelling. It's a good thing you are with us. I love words and you make sure we keep thinking about them.