Getting It Done
I have this project I’ve been working on, off and on.
This past week, I decided to dust it off and work on it again. I remembered that one of my sticking points was two statements made by the author. In the author’s day, they illustrated certain points. But, to modern sensibilities, these statements may be seen as bigoted or, at the least, very stereotypical.
So, my problem was how to remove those statements, while still illustrating the point the author was trying to make.
And, that’s where I remember leaving off.
So, the past couple days, I worked on cleaning things up, working on assorted odds and ends and otherwise trying to finish the project. But, I didn’t tackle these two statements yet.
So, late last night, I decided I’d look up and mark those areas where the statements appear, so that I could take care of them today.
Bear in mind, that these statements tended to stick out like a sore thumb. After I initially saw them, they would tend to pop out at me whenever I was near them. They had to be changed. Some people might be offended by these statements.
Mind you, I don’t know for certain but I don’t think the author was intentionally trying to be offensive, but rather providing examples that, in his day and age, might have been just the way things were. But, that doesn’t play well with the modern audience as it may have back then.
But, I couldn’t find them!
I searched and re-searched through the sections I thought they were, and ended up going through the whole thing at least twice.
Still, I could find these statements nowhere!
My gosh! Had I become blind to these statements? Had I become immune to the potential offense?
After spending maybe an hour looking for these statements in a printed copy, I decided it was time to go to bed. I would try again in the morning, this time using the computer to find them.
And, that’s what I did. I pulled up the document on the computer and used the search feature. I plugged in the first word I remembered being in one of the statements. Nothing. Had I misremembered it? So, I tried with the word I remembered being in the other statement. Nothing.
Had I remembered the wrong words? Were the statements in a different project? But, no, I was certain they were in this specific project.
But, I knew those statements were in there. I knew the specific words used in them. So, why couldn’t I find them?
I pulled up an early version of the project. Searched that. Found the first statement. Compared it with the latest version of the document. It wasn’t there. Searched for the second statement in the early version. Found it. Compared it with the most recent version of the document. It wasn’t there either.
Apparently, I had already edited out these statements.
Over a year ago.
Be the first to comment!