thanks for the spam
6:38 p.m.

To the person who sent me one of those "I-Really-Really-Care-About-You"

spams today:

Thank you very much.

I think.

I say "I think" because I'm not entirely sure you really truly do

care about me. The sentiment in the email I received was heartfelt and sincere,

but it was neither your words nor your story. It was something that someone

sent to you and you forwarded it to everyone on your mailing list and then mailed

it back to the person who sent it to you, only because you were following the

instructions at the end of the message.

It wasn't a chain letter, per se. It didn't say, "You will have bad luck

if you don't do this," but it might just as well have done. What it did

imply was that a person who didn't "take the time" to forward it is

in too much of a hurry and needs to slow down to enjoy what is around him or

her. Or, more specifically, to appreciate the sort of person who did "take

the time" to click the "forward" button.

I'm sorry if you feel that way. Myself, I certainly hope I tell the people

I care about that I care about them, and that I do so frequently enough that

I don't have to forward someone else's words (and all the > signs that go

with them) and pretend that that means more.

As far as not taking the time to reply, I think I'm being far more considerate

by not filling up your email with something that's just going to get deleted

anyway.

I hope your feelings aren't hurt that I'm replying here and not in your email

as per "instructions." It doesn't mean I don't care or that I don't

have the time; it means that I feel that the original sentiment gets belittled

by the fact that it only takes a click to send it to everyone you really-really-care-about.

And that, with the same click, you could also send it to everyone in the PTA.

Or on your company email mailing list. Or in your porno-by-email service.

From now on, I think, any time I receive one of those "I-Really-Really-Care-About-You"

spams, I'm just going to reply with a link to this entry.

Which would be great, except that the sort of person who sends out the "I-Really-Really-Care-About-You"

spams will probably copy all of this into an email and send it to everyone in

his or her mailing list.

Sigh.

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