Dear Kid,

We were at the soccer field. Pi’s team was warming up and I was freezing up while we watched the game before hers (and by “watched” I mean Dad was providing a running commentary on the players, the coaching, and the reffing, and I was not).

A teenage-ish looking boy in the row behind us asked, “What do the blue jerseys signify?” The refs were in blue that game.

The boy’s Very Knowledgeable Dad responded, “It has to do with their level of qualification…”

I did not spit out my coffee, but only because I wasn’t drinking any. I turned around and gently explained that the refs were wearing blue because one of the teams was in yellow and it could be potentially confusing if the team and the officials were wearing the same color. I further explained that the patches had to do with their certification and that said patches were held on with Velcro. (I don’t think they cared about the Velcro very much.) At the end I said, “My son’s a referee, so I got a great education.”

All true.

And it got me thinking about people who feel the Great Need to Provide Information—whether they are privy to accurate facts or not.

I should point out here that I am not talking about mothers who write blogs and take great pride in not having actual facts all the time.

I am talking about people who pontificate at great length—and even greater length when they know less than nothing about a given subject.

Wouldn’t it be easier (and potentially less embarrassing) to say, “Interesting question. I’m not sure. Perhaps Our Friend the Internet has the answer.”?

Have you ever encountered a person like that? One who spouts misinformation like the Bellagio spouts water? (Someone please remind me to write about interesting fountains.) I wonder if people usually correct them. I wonder if they get tired of being wrong all the time. Mostly I wonder if they even know their wrong because people just ignore them.

Get a good education, kid. If you’re going to spout off, know what you’re talking about.

Love, Mom