EXCLAMATION POINT

It’s amazing! Sometimes the most trivial of things are the ones that niggle at me and annoy me the most!!! Take the humble exclamation point! Or should that be the exclamation mark?!! Whatever! Whichever one it is, take it!

Please, do!!

In the right hands or handled correctly, it’s a perfectly innocent piece of punctuation! It serves its purpose! It makes, if I might be so bold, its point!

But nowadays this actually less than most humble of symbols is starting to crop up everywhere! Whether it’s really needed or not! As if somehow everything that is being written by everyone ever has become massively important!

Or significant!

Or wildly exciting!!

Or the funniest thing you’ve ever seen!!!

Or the most dramatic!!!!

Or the most astonishing!!!!!

So why do I suddenly feel the need to share some musings upon the exclamation mark with you today?!! Well, I don’t really know! I’m just feeling a bit crazy today! Wild and, if I may be so presumptive, wacky!!

Aren't I funny!

This is hilarious!

Isn’t it?!!

Thought not!

So why does the – as we’ve already ascertained – less than humble exclamation mark so vex me this morning?! Well, I suppose it’s because of my recent dabblings in the world of text based messaging! God knows the proliferation of the wretched things can be irritating! I mean, it’s barely tolerable to find them screaming from the headlines all the time but now every tiny little statement made by anyone at all seems to feel the need to scream out at you as to how flaming important or hilariously witty it is!

Even when it isn’t!

Or that it’s such a massively surprising thing!

Even when it’s totally predictable!

Or just a bit… dull!

Perhaps my irritation stems from the fact that we are just leaving that time of the year when we tend to get those letters that people send out to sum up their year! “Last year we had fifteen holidays! The children passed their exams! (Actually, in a lot of cases, that does come as some surprise…!) We watched lots of bad television! And got mail nearly every other day! We bought food!! And cooked it! And sometimes it was even edible!! Most nights we slept a bit!!” and so on, ad nauseum…! When did we all start to believe that every single little thing we all did was suddenly so interesting or important?!? When did we all start thinking that everything we do matters so very much!?!

Used sparingly, of course, this punctuation mark can indeed go a long way towards making a valid point seem more important than it might otherwise have been! It can draw the eye to the real and most valid point or conclusion you are trying to make!

Maybe that’s why it was thought to be the most appropriate symbol to place upon warning signs! Although nowadays I wonder whether people driving along and seeing that particular sign might just think it’s there purely to point out how great the view is…!

I have visions of coach loads of people pulling up at these signs to take photographs of them, or standing around, looking in all directions and just wondering what all the fuss is about…!!!

Ah well! Never mind! I don’t suppose I’m going to get very far by trying to change anyone’s mind about this, am I?!? I’m sure the vast majority of people happening across this piece of nonsense will wonder what it is I’m making all the fuss about…!

And if you don’t get it, I’m sure you probably never will!!!!!

(!!!) I think I’ve made my point...!