Ava

When I started writing this blog Ruth did most of my proofreading. She was more focused on content than structure so many of my errors went unnoticed. Ruth wanted to make sure that my stories weren’t offensive, and while I never intended to be so, she pointed out my shortcomings. Over time spouses can become very proficient at pointing out errors that their partners make.

A couple of years after I began writing, I discovered that my selected word processer, WordPress, had a “read aloud” option. If I pushed that button, I could hear what I had written. Hearing what I wrote helped me correct dozens of errors. Some guy named “Mark” read everything, mistakes included. I love it. Mark is from the United States so that’s how his voice sounds.

The web browser I use is Microsoft Edge. I’ve tried writing on the Google Chrome platform, but it won’t read my work like Edge does. It doesn’t have that option or I’m unable to access it. My talents are limited so it’s probably the latter.

Last winter a female voice popped up from out of nowhere. I liked the sound of Ava’s voice, so I kept her rather than Mark. Despite being from England, she reads with the same expression that I would choose, and it’s nice to hear a female voice while I’m writing. She read my stories all last winter.

When I returned to Michigan last May, Ava was gone. Mark was back. I could find Ava in my “voice options”, she just wouldn’t stick around. I could select her, and she’d read a paragraph; but when the next one popped up, she was gone, and Mark was reading. I couldn’t figure it out, so I reached out to the Geek Squad for help. After trying to fix my problem for about three hours, we both gave up.

I brought my computer with me to Florida last summer. I wrote my blog and to my surprise Ava returned. I wrote, and she read, for a few days on both sides of my trip to Europe. I took advantage of the more economical flight to London from Tampa rather than Detroit. If I hadn’t Ava might have been lost all summer.

I spent three weeks away from Michigan. When I returned, Ava was gone. I wrote, and Mark read, for the remainder of the summer.

I returned to Florida on September 15th. I started to write again the evening of the 16th. Much to my delight, Ava returned as well.

The idea that she reads in Florida but not in Michigan makes no sense. I use the same computer, same website and same browser in both places. She just prefers Florida.

I’ve asked several people for guidance. No one has been able to explain my conundrum. If you have a theory, I would like to hear it.

As long as Ava sticks with me in Florida, I’ll be good to go until I head back to Michigan next spring.