Blubbering Fool … Literally.

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My ride to work is pretty routine — once I smush myself and all my stuff (lunch, laptop, purse, coffee, workout clothes, etc.), I turn on the radio and tune it to news. The CBS affiliate here in Orlando actually has a radio broadcast frequency (see this link for some cool “did ya know” facts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTSC)

And since I generally can’t stand the Early Show, but I’m stuck with it, I spend my 40 minute drive yelling to myself, and to the anchors who can’t hear me and never will.

Today, though … they had a story that caused me a minor mental breakdown. Crying, sniffling, shaking … a story that inspired me and really got me thinking about the spirit of the season.

Here’s the setup, from earlyshow.cbsnews.com:

In 2004, the birth of little Matthew was an answer to Mike and Susie Welling’s prayers. At the time, they did not know that Matthew was born with a life-threatening disease. A bone marrow transplant was his only hope for survival. The Welling’s family and friends rallied around to give them love and support but it took two strangers to give Matthew the gift of life.

Matthew Welling took his first steps here at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital. This little boy with the reddest hair and biggest heart knows what it’s like to fight for his life.

Just before Matthew’s first birthday, Michael and Susie Welling got the news no parent wants to hear.

“We had a full body x-ray and on our ride home he called us to say it’s osteopetrosis,” Michael Welling said.

This rare and potentially fatal bone disease meant they were in a race against the clock. Their only hope — a bone marrow transplant. Without it Matthew would be blind and deaf within weeks.

What happened next? I don’t want to give it away, but if you have a few moments — and some tissues, and are NOT in a moving vehicle like I was — I suggest you follow the link.

The takeaway? We can all make a difference in someone else’s life, and many times, it’s only a small sacrifice. So this is the link I will be checking out later today.

Okay, on to the rest of the post title … literally. People, I am calling a moratorium on the word literally, at least until a majority of English speakers actually know how to use it. The crash on I-4 did not *literally cause a backup to Maine. The music was not so loud that your ears literally exploded. And the fog that I saw on today’s commute did not literally blanket the roads.

Here is the definition of literal:

lit?er?al

–adjective

1.	in accordance with, involving, or being the primary or strict meaning of the word or words; not figurative or metaphorical: the literal meaning of a word.

2.	following the words of the original very closely and exactly: a literal translation of Goethe.

3.	true to fact; not exaggerated; actual or factual: a literal description of conditions.

4.	being actually such, without exaggeration or inaccuracy: the literal extermination of a city.

5.	(of persons) tending to construe words in the strict sense or in an unimaginative way; matter-of-fact; prosaic.

6.	of or pertaining to the letters of the alphabet.

7.	of the nature of letters.

8.	expressed by letters.

9.	affecting a letter or letters: a literal error.

–noun

10.	a typographical error, esp. involving a single letter.

See those that say true to fact, and being actually such? The whole point of the word literal is to make it clear that despite the incredulous nature of a statement, it is in FACT true. Here are some examples of the correct use of the word literal.

We painted the town red — literally! We grabbed our paint brushes and painted the buildings red in honor of AIDS research.

The wind was so strong that it literally blew me over … I wiped out and fell on my butt in front of everyone.

Okay, maybe they’re not great examples, but they’re the best I can do off the top of my head.

I’ll leave you with my latest obsession. Britney’s “Circus” album, and specifically, the title song. The official Britney channel on YouTube doesn’t let you embed stuff, so here’s the link as well as a new picture of our girl, looking amazing.

Circus Video