2 posts tagged “people”

I don't get why any rational human being would send out those mass email forwards that parasitically overtake normal email communication.

I have gotten several warnings to avoid sample perfume offered by strangers - it is probably ether, and many innocent women have gone missing because no one loved them enough to 'pass on this email to 10 women who are important to you'. I want to know who is dumb enough to sniff something given to them by a stranger in a gas station parking lot. Why is it that we only hear about these attacks via email, and not on the news? Perhaps it isn't true. 

Let's settle some of these spam legends once and for all:

• Ever heard about 'progesterex', the date rape drug that renders each and every victim sterile? That's because it only exists in junk email that your friends send to you. If you don't believe me, go ask alice.
• The first email urban legend I remember reading was insect lays eggs in cheek. There are several versions of this story, most of which I believed at age 13.
• I can't remember where I saw this letter, but it fooled me.
• Bill Gates, Microsoft, and AOL are not planning on giving you anything!
• Do people ever tell you not to reuse plastic water bottles? I've heard and read emails about it but it isn't based on very good information.

True ones that I like but won't ever feel the need to email to anyone

• Dr Ruth served as a sniper in Israel
• Cynical job posting.
• Church of Christ minister tries to stop speedy drivers for the Lord: by jumping in front of fast cars in his neighborhood, sticking brooms in their way and backing his own car in front of other drivers. story

At a gas station last year in a rural part of Minnesota an older man, maybe in his mid-50's stopped me as I was walking inside and said "Excuse me, I dont know what your heritage is, but I love it!". At that time I would normally get ticked off when men approached me in public, but he was so sincere - I didn't sense he had any hidden agenda. "May I ask what your background is?" I told him very briefly. He said a sentence or two more about my 'heritage', and I thanked him. At that point in my life I would usually get out of the conversation as quickly as possible and feel resentful. This was so different though - it was a genuine moment that left me thinking not so much about the words but about the sincerity, vulnerability, and kindness with which he said them.

Sincerity is my favorite quality in a person, and even people who come across a little rough or awkward around the edges have a special place in my heart if they say what they mean (and mean what they say), and are never sideways about anything. Living in the mid-west, more importantly in Minnesota where "Minnesota nice" passive-aggresively seeps into most conversations, I've gravitated more and more towards these individuals. As a result I also spend more time thinking about how sincere I really am and how I can make my interactions more genuine.