| Sunny Side Up May 22, 2002 �2001, Kathleen Gibson Think twice before clicking on �Forward� My laugh is as used up as last week�s sales flyers. My warm fuzzies are ratty old lint balls. I�m inspired to death and laughless to boot. If one more �forward��joke, story, or poem�lands in my electronic mailbox, if yet another �this is a keeper� winks its innocent letters in the subject line on my computer�s mail server, I refuse responsibility for what happens next. Actually, it already happened. The green flag was up on my mailbox. Whoopee, mail! I clicked to open. Forwards, all of them. Enough humor and inspiration to heal all the cancer in the Mayo Clinic. So send it there already. It was late, I was irate, and my fingers were flying before my brain kicked in. A few minutes later I clicked �send� on a one page letter that put the fear of God, the law, and me into everyone who�d ever sent me a forward, and a few who hadn�t. I signed it Kathleen Gibson, writer, broadcaster, and columnist. Such arrogance. My mailbox was nearly empty of forwards for a month. I did receive one, prefaced with a timorous, �I hope this meets your qualifications for proper creditation.� That was my main argument in the letter, you see. Most of these forwards come without properly acknowledging the author. Some are lifted straight out of Chicken Soup books and Reader�s Digest, and still no credit given. That�s illegal, unethical, and downright rude. That�s what I said, with a few extra words. I wish I�d explained better my strongest objection�the tawdry substitute for real connection these forwards have become. Laughter was once the sparkling punctuation that occurred within the paragraphs of a genuine human experience. Inspiration occurred in flashes rare and bright enough to be immediately distinguishable from the mundane. To lift our eyes and heart in the surprise of it. But where does one go for humor and inspiration when you�re already steeping in it�when it�s slapped on like a coat of cheap paint? Once upon a time a letter from a friend was confirmation that someone you knew was living an actual life, and wanted you to know something about it. Even a postcard did that. �Hi, thought of you today�wondered if you�re still kicking� Our dog died yesterday.� Clicking on forward says only that my name in your electronic address book inspired you to click on forward. Thanks for the itsy bitsy, teensy weensy thought. Ditto, I guess. A few days after my late night rant there was a response from a friend who�s great at forwarding things, but has scarcely sent an actual personal word since the last century. A real letter, full of humor, opinions, and information. She closed it by saying. �You�re right, you know, we should take the time to get in touch with each other more often�� When I finished reading, I was chuckling aloud and feeling downright inspired. And that�s a good thing to be when you�re an inspirational writer. You can respond to this column at [email protected] |