Freakin' Doctors

     I couldn't resist the temptation of setting myself up for ridicule and embarrassment by sharing the story that follows. After all, I'm a writer, and I suppose that means I should be forthcoming and transparent and that I should write about what I know. Or in this case, what I didn't know.

     I posted a "Hey, You Never Know" column on December 3rd called "The Alphabet Clown" about misheard song lyrics. Maybe you remember it. (You can scroll through to find it, if you'd like. How else will you discover which Rolling Stones song the title of that post refers to?) Recently I put one of my favorite songs, Arlo Guthrie's "City of New Orleans," on my iPod. I've always loved it, even though I could never figure out why Arlo talked about "freakin' doctors" just after mentioning 15 restless riders and just before describing 25 sacks of mail.
     So I looked up the lyrics online and discovered that "freakin' doctors" was actually "three conductors."
     Okay. Go ahead and laugh. But I'm willing to bet that everyone out there has a few misheard lyrics for which they can be ridiculed and embarrassed--whether they're an editor, a publisher, a friend, a relative--even a freakin' doctor.