The Mississippi Mudd Affair
Brandon loved to hunt. He had done it his entire life until he moved away for college and his itinerant years. When he returned, he picked it right up again, this time using a bow and arrow.
Now, my brother was the single most charismatic person that I have ever met, and let me stop you there and correct something. When I say he was charismatic, I don’t mean that he was loud and cheerful. I mean that he had a singular ability to make anyone excited about anything, and he did it in an astonishingly nonchalant way. It was effortless for him to lead; believe me when I say that I do not have that quality. The point is that once he took up bow hunting, a group of his friends soon followed.
Mississippi Mudd was formed. A website was created. And videos were made. The members of the group would hunt deer and film the experience. Of course, if you have a website, you need content. That’s where I come into this story.
Brandon asked me to correct the grammar for the About Us page on the MS Mudd website. I always got excited when he asked for my help, so I said ‘yes.’ He emailed me the text. When I saw it, I didn’t really know what to do because it was terrible. The ideas in it were brilliant; they always were. But, Brandon was not an expert with the written word.
The original:
Mississippi Mudd is a collective group that embarks on a simple yet adventurous way of life. We enjoy pursuing excellence in the outdoors by working hard and utilizing our resources to the fullest. Hunting is not something you could ever fully master and we keep that perspective each year. Not one member claims to have a complete grasp on the outdoors and its that humble perspective that can lead to success. Hard work is a staple on who we are in and out of the woods. Mistakes are going to happen in the woods, there are too many variables with weather and equipment. We choose to take those mistakes learn from them and better ourselves rather than those mistakes leading to defeat. We have a work hard play hard mentality, and having fun in the tree is what keeps us moving forward during the hard times. We are closing the expectation gap by bringing quality hunting to the everyday hunter.
My revision:
Mississippi Mudd is a group that participates in a simple yet adventurous way of life. Together, we pursue excellence in the outdoors by working hard and using our resources efficiently. Hunting is an art, not a science, and that can be frustrating. Though we love the reasons and ways nature works, no one on our team believes he has all the answers. Instead, we strive each day to make sure the experience counts more than the outcome. Our mistakes — and there are plenty of those — do not define us; our commitment does. Anything can ruin a hunt: bad weather, faulty equipment, a coyote, a sneeze, and sometimes the deer just aren’t there. We shape those obstacles into motivation and come back day after day season after season because we love what we do. We have fun in the tree; we make plans for success; we adapt to failure; we live for the hunt. That is who we are. This is Mississippi Mudd, bringing quality hunting to the everyday hunter.
You see it, don’t you? Mine is better. It’s as simple as that. I know it, and you know it. Here’s the thing, though…Brandon thought his would appeal to people more. I couldn’t believe it. I showed at least 7 seven people both drafts, not telling them which one was which, and they all picked mine as the better one. Why didn’t he think so?
I don’t know. A better question is why I thought I needed him to think mine was the best. Brandon’s approval was like gold: everyone wanted it. It was valuable and shiny. It made your eyes light up when you got it. And it was heavy; you carried it with you and felt responsibility for it. I wonder how he would feel about this website…
