Punctuation Help, Please

[MeMahee]

I am trying to solve a puzzle that involves mis-use of punctuation (improper, missing, etc.). The text follows, and I'm asking for identification and correction of said punctuation. Thank you.

The text:
“Care to join me for tea?” Cindy Chipmunk asked Helen Hedgehog. It had been a long time since the two ladies had gotten together.

“I would love to,” replied Helen. She loved having tea with Cindy


“Well, maybe I should invite some of the other girls, like Suzy Skunk or Sally Squirrel,” asked Mrs. Chipmunk, hoping Helen would agree. A date was chosen, and Mrs. Chipmunk and Mrs. Hedgehog planned the whole affair, from what tea they would drink (Darjeeling) to the types of muffins they would bake (lemon poppy). Cindy was so very excited as the plans came together.


After tea was poured, Suzy started the gossip, asking “Did you hear who Mr. Beaver was seen with?” a tiny glint in her eye. Everyone shook their head hoping Suzy would continue. She did not leave them hanging.


“Well, Mrs. Mole told me she saw Benny Beaver leaving Betty Bunny’s house when he was supposed to be cutting wood for their dam,” continued Suzy. Everyone was shocked, because they all thought that Mr. and Mrs. Beaver had a rock solid marriage. Mrs. Skunk continued to chatter away, spilling all sorts of juicy gossip to her friends, about what she heard, or what someone told her, about all the other animals in the forest, only occasionally stopping for a sip of tea.


What was very, very ironic, is that at that very moment, Mr. Skunk was knocking on Mrs. Bunny’s door, in what would surely create a little bit of gossip that Mrs. Skunk did not want to hear.

 

[Rover_KE]

Welcome to the board, MeMahee.

You should make your own attempt first.

We may then comment.

Rover

 

[MeMahee]

Hi ~ and thank you for your quick reply! :-D

I guess I should have expounded on my request ~

This is a puzzle that I'm trying to solve in connection with a hobby of mine; not something that is being used in any fashion for grading purposes.

Regarding the puzzle ... Yes, I truly have been *looking* at this for quite sometime before asking for help. Believe me, I'd rather know and have the satisfaction that I was able to solve it myself, but ... this is starting to have me looking at it in circles. :-?

I have two clues from the creator:
1. eats shoots and leaves (which refers to the book and mis-use of punctuation); and
2. this should give you two (I *think* I know what this means, but I'm not positive ... explanation below).

Two clues given to me by somebody that has already solved it are:
1. "Remember the rules for punction 1..2...3...4"; and
2. "you are sooooooooooo close.....Do you remember the rules of punction? This link will help you out if you are still lost after this just email me again and I'll try to explain things better The rules are the numbers Like needing the period at the end of a sentence would be RULE 1. "
*Link provided in e-mail, but I'm unable to post in this forum as I'm new :-(
If you Google "Basic Rules of Punctuation - Punctuation Guidelines", it will be the first result that appears (about.com).

Solving the puzzle will result in a set of coordinates, i.e.
N 41° 28.062 W 071° 19.481 , with the resulting coordinates being in close proximity to those shown (within 1 mile).

I may be completely off track, but I believe my best attempt at nearing a solution is needing to identify mis-uses, then assigning each instance a number. From there, simple math (addition and/or subtraction) may need to be performed.

Also, the solution may or may not include the leading degrees (i.e., 41, 071, 71) as those are a given to the solution.

As for the clue "this should give you two", I'm not positive, but I also believe that once you have the complete set of coordinates (presumably with the leading degrees), that the total of the digits will add down to a single digit of two (i.e., the coordinates above add down to "9").

Hopefully, I've shown above that YES, I've truly tried to wrap my (feeble?) mind around this enigma, and that YES, I'm truly at the point where I need ... HELP!! :shock:

Thanks again for your time.

 

[MeMahee]

Just wondering if anybody can and/or is willing to lend a helping hand with this poser!!

... Thanks!!

 

[Rover_KE]

To be honest, I don't understand most of post #3.

I'm not seeing any attempt to identify punctuation mistakes in post #1.

Rover

 

[5jj]

To be honest, I don't understand most of post #3.
You are not alone.
I'm not seeing any attempt to identify punctuation mistakes in post #1.

5