One of my sisters sent me an e-mail titled "Flu kills 27 in Britain, spreading in Europe!" and follows with the text "Has everyone gotten their flu shots?" A friend sends me a cutesy e- mail that gives you all kinds of cute, cuddly sayings and then says you will die at dawn if you don't forward it to 20 friends within minutes of receiving it. Another "used to be sane and hip" friend sends me a power point presentation of the castles of the Rhineland, when I am in the middle of a crisis of gigantic proportions. Also, God save me, from the political and "support the troops" or religious "Jesus died for your sins and we deny him today" pass on at your own peril, types. UGH!
What is it about reaching 50 that suddenly fairly sane people all of a sudden feel the need to send this kind of stuff to their friends? Yes I am past fifty....but I never send this kind of stuff and hate to receive it! I want to know how YOU FEEL about what happened to you today, or how angry something on the news made you react, or how you hate getting older, but not how feebleminded you've become when the only thing you have to say is included in sending out sudden alarmist Armageddon type e-mails or cutesy, full of emoticon, want to make me vomit stuff someone else has sent you with the promise that you will not see tomorrow if you don't pass it on.
Does one go brain dead at 50?
Please tell me about how great that new restaurant you went to was and how much you loved a great dish....or tell me how horrible you feel that someone you love is ill, or how your guts are bleeding because the guy you love no longer loves you, or that you are so happy to be alive....and still out there trying to live life to the fullest and still brave enough to run right through your fears and do something you've never done before no matter how difficult, because that's what being alive is all about, whether you are 25 or 50.....I want to know how you FEEL about it...not some substitute.
AND if you love me because I am a hard headed, sometimes perverse, but mostly kind, funny and willing not to let life make me old or jaded or afraid person, then send me a note saying so...."I love you because you are a nut and I love nuts!" kind of thing. Don't give me substitutes for your feelings or send me dire warnings about all the unfortunate things out there. I live in the world too and i know they are there....but I choose not to dwell on them to the exclusion of LIVING!
So if you feel the same way...start telling the people that you care about that you'd prefer a two line e-mail about what pissed them off that day or made them smile, than some cutesy "forward" type that just makes them want to delete it. Cut down on dumb e-mails. I support the troops every time I send in a donation to the VFW or the Disabled Vets or I vote to end wars....and I don't need anyone to teach me how to be PATRIOTIC! Patriotism is in our actions and how much we educate ourselves on our history and the history of the world we live in and be the best kind of citizen we can be by voting and supporting the things we believe in. I don't need a lecture by someone who gets their news from the various talking heads on radio or TV!
Think about it. The world, with all it's bloody problems, is a pretty damned interesting place to inhabit. Don't let life make you old! It's not so much about how up to date your electronics are today...but on what you do with them and what you send over them. Be bold! Stay vital and alive! Communicate! Don't let your brain get old....and please don't forward that chain letter to your friends. Give them a hug and tell them you love them instead next time you see them!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my forever young alter ego!
Zoni
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