🚀 go-pugleaf

louking@iadfw.net writes:

>My friends at "Childrens Make a Wish Foundation" have asked anyone who
>is willing... a favor.  Let me explain.

>A little 7 year old boy is dying from an inoperable brain tumor and
>has  asked one  last wish.  This little boy's wish will cost nothing
>and will bring much happiness to him.  He wishes to receive ONE
>MILLION GET-WELL  cards by  AUGUST 15, 1995.  If this wish comes true,

snip

>His name is Craig Shirgold.  He lives in Keene, NH.  Please help this
>child's  WISH COME TRUE!

snip

Do not do this, please.  This is an urban legend that has been around
for years.  Please read this (and note the dates!):

>From: Gene Spafford <spaf@cs.purdue.edu>
>Subject: DO NOT SENT ANY {GET WELL, POST, BUSINESS} CARDS TO CRAIG SHERGOLD!
>Message-ID: <199202141505.AA28623@uther.cs.purdue.edu>
>Reply-To: spaf@cs.purdue.edu
>Organization: SERC, Department of Computer Sciences, Purdue Univ.
>Date: Mon, 17 Feb 1992 19:43:21 GMT
>
>If you call the ``Children's Make a Wish'' foundation, you will find
>that they are not soliciting any form of card for Craig Shergold or
>anyone else.  Better yet, if you call the Guinness people (US
>publisher is "Facts on File" @ 212-683--2244 ext. 336), you can get
>this same story confirmed.  You will also find that they will no
>longer endorse or support any effort to break this record.
>
>Many years ago, Craig Shergold had a brain tumor, believed inoperable.
>He sought to set the Guinness record for get-well cards.  The call was
>well-publicized, and he did, indeed set the record (consult a recent
>edition of the book --- he has received in excess of 16 million cards
>to date; he officially set the record as of 17 Nov 1989).
>
>As part of this whole story, his plight caught the attention of John
>Kluge, the US billionaire, who paid for Craig to come to the US and
>receive specialized treatment.  As a result, Craig has recovered
>completely from his tumor.  He is also no longer seven, but well into
>his teens (you can see how out-of-date the request for cards is from
>this -- it's like circulating a letter encouraging people to vote for
>Carter for President).
>
>The problem is that the mimeographed sheets and letters seeking cards
>for Craig have continued to be circulated.  As a result, cards
>continue to pour in to the post office for Royal Marsden Hospital in
>England.  Worse, the appeal has mutated into various other versions,
>such as an appeal for business cards, one for postcards, and another
>version that appeals for holiday cards.
>
>The Shergold family has publicly appealed many times that people cease
>to mail them cards and letters, and that no more appeals be made on
>their behalf. One easily accessible way to verify this is with the
>article on page 24 of the 19 July 1990 NY Times.  People Magazine wrote
>an article about it on June 1, 1991, page 63.  Even Ann Landers has
>carried an item on this [6/23/91], but people still keep trying to send
>cards.  Both Guinness and Royal Marsden have repeatedly issued press
>releases asking people to stop circulating requests for cards, as they
>are creating an undue burden on both the hospital and the postal service.
>
>The Guinness people have discontinued the category to prevent this
>kind of thing from ever happening again, and are doing their utmost to
>kill any further mailings.  The Royal Marsden Hospital is at a loss
>what to do with the cards that continue to arrive --- most are being
>sold to stamp collectors and paper recyclers, and none go on to Craig.
>
>This appeal for Craig, as well as many urban legends, regularly appear
>on electronic bulletin boards around the world, and in many
>organizational newsletters and bulletins.  It is both heartening and
>unfortunate that there are so many well-meaning people who continue to
>propagate these stories.  It is too bad that so many people are
>unwilling to verify their information before passing such things
>along, especially when a simple phone call will suffice to do so.  In
>this case, opening a recent copy of a book carried by nearly every
>library and bookstore would illuminate the situation.
>
>If you would still like to do something for a dying child, consider
>making a donation to a charity such as UNICEF or to the International
>Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Magen David).  Many thousands of children
>are dying daily around the world from disease and starvation, and
>countless millions more are suffering from the ravages of war, famine,
>disease, and natural disaster.  Think how many of them might be helped
>by the millions of dollars in postage spent on cards to Craig
>Shergold....   Addresses (in US) are:
>
>	UNICEF               American National Red Cross       
>	1 UN Plaza	     17th & D Streets                  
>	New York, NY 10017   Washington, DC 20006              
>			     Attn: international children's aid
>
>[Also, I encourage you to save this announcement, in either electronic
>or hard copy form, and to post it to any bulletin board you've seen the
>original plea on.  If you see it in the future, as you probably will,
>you can attach a copy of this announcement.  Wouldn't it be great to
>finally kill this story, which spreads like a virus? - MRH]
>	
>-- 
>Professor Gene Spafford
>Dept. of Computer Sciences
>Purdue University
>W. Lafayette IN 47907-1398
>spaf@cs.purdue.edu


Jeff Hosier   jhosier@ibm.net


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