Punctuation: {"! .} - ], ? ;"[

20 years ago I was sitting in a meeting. Our organization was in the midst of a significant change effort; and we were making real headway. It required weekly meetings with all levels of the organization. This meeting was full of discussion about the past week's successes and challenges. Everything was a work in progress. Nothing was deemed a failure; only a work in progress.

I was notorious for making comments that were considered out of context or somehow goofy. I worked with a great group of people who understood me and tolerated my "outbursts." I enjoyed their tauntings for weeks after something that I said.

This particular meeting was not unsual. Eight to ten of us were sitting around the table. Someone made a proposal and it was passed around the group in discussion. At some point, and I don't know just when that was, I decided that I thought the idea was good enough to implement. Our custom allowed participants to state their opinions in such a way that they were like "trial closes" in the sales world or attempts to "call the question" in Robert's Rules of Order linngo.

I decided to attempt the trial close and made a statement. Based upon how we phrase things in english, I said, "If it works great, it could be good." I intended to say, "If it works, great! It could be good." Everyone looked at me in that special way such that I could read their expressions - "what!!!!! Of course, you idiot, if it works great, it will be much more than good!"

Simply moving the comma to follow the word "works" would have changed everything. People still tell that story on me. Somehow it makes me feel good when they do because it causes me to reflect on that time - all because of a small little mark placed between this two words rather than that two words.