To: Myself
BCC: A whole lot of people
Subject: [Fwd: Fwd: Re: Slow Dance]
Body:
For an expose on this hoax, read here:
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/slowdance.htm
If you would like to call Dr. Shields directly and ask him if he had anything to do with this email, please find his contact information available here:
http://www.aecom.yu.edu/dmb/shields.htm
If you don’t feel like clicking that, here’s his office number 718-430-2653, ext 3281.
Forwarding an email without editing it for concision and deleting the list of past recipients exposes the email addresses of past recipients to everyone to whom you send the email, as well as anyone to whom the email may be forwarded in the future.
If you truly insist on passing along a nice story, poem, joke, or some information you feel is important, please keep in mind the following three recommendations:
1. Don’t expose the email addresses of others to other people. Delete unnecessary addresses from the body of the email, and use the BCC field whenever the email that you’re sending doesn’t require people to “Reply-All”. In case anyone is reading this is wondering how I got your email address – someone else you know forgot this step. You can’t find your address below? That’s because I deleted it.
2. If “factual” claims are made in the body of the email you’re sending along, try searching Google for “hoax” along with a couple keywords from the body of the message. For instance: search Google for “Dennis Shields hoax” and you’ll find 51,800 results debunking the content of this email.
3. Keep emails concise. If you just want to pass along a poem or joke, delete everything but the poem or joke. You already read the email when it was sent to you, and you know what parts of it are interesting and what parts aren’t. Delete the garbage out of courtesy to others.
I’m sorry if you feel that I’ve wasted your time with this email. I’m sorry if you were merely an “innocent recipient” on the list and you already follow similar guidelines that you set for yourself, and thus you feel you have no need to have read this.
But at the same time, someone you know doesn’t already have similar “guidelines of email etiquette” that they follow, and remaining quiet about it won’t change the situation. Someone else is taking liberties with your contact information, passing it off to others, likely without your permission.
I, for one, can’t stay quiet about that forever, and I feel it’s inappropriate to complain about what I feel to be “a lack of manners” if I passively let every indiscretion slide. Here’s my attempt to do something about it.
If you agree with me and would like to share these words with other people you know, in order to spread awareness of email etiquette and save a lot of word-weary email users some time in the long run, please do. (I’ll be posting it on my weblog at http://quasistoic.org as well.)
But delete my email address from the body before you hit send.
Thanks,
-Danny Dawson
PostScript – I love you, Mom.
Post-PostScript – Racedrvr: My sincerest apologies to you. I did see the Snopes link you passed along about the email hoax, which I’ll include here for the sake of others:
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/medical/slowdance.asp
On 12/2/05, My Mom wrote:
>
>
> This poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York Hospital .
> It was sent by a medical doctor – Make sure to read what is in the closing statement AFTER THE POEM.
>
> SLOW DANCE
>
> Have you ever watched kids
> On a merry-go-round?
> Or listened to the rain
> Slapping on the ground?
> Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?
> Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
> You better slow down.
> Don’t dance so fast.
> Time is short.
> The music won’t last.
>
> Do you run through each day
> On the fly?
> When you ask How are you?
> Do you hear the reply?
> When the day is done
> Do you lie in your bed
> With the next hundred chores
> Running through your head?
> You’d better slow down
> Don’t dance so fast.
> Time is short.
> The music won’t last.
>
> Ever told your child,
> We’ll do it tomorrow?
> And in your haste,
> Not see his sorrow?
> Ever lost touch,
> Let a good friendship die
> Cause you never had time
> To call and say,”Hi”
> You’d better slow down.
> Don’t dance so fast.
> Time is short.
> The music won’t last .
> When you run so fast to get somewhere
> You miss half the fun of getting there.
> When you worry and hurry through your day,
> It is like an unopened gift….
> Thrown away.
> Life is not a race.
> Do take it slower
> Hear the music
> Before the song is over.
>
> ——————–
>
> FORWARDED
>
> E-MAILS ARE TRACKED TO OBTAIN THE TOTAL COUNT.
>
> Dear All:
>
> PLEASE pass this mail on to everyone you know -
> even to those you don’t know!
> It is the request of a special girl who
> will soon leave this world due to cancer.
> This young girl has 6 months left to live, and as her dying wish,
> She wanted to send a letter telling everyone to live
> their life to the fullest, since she never will.
> She’ll never make it to prom, graduate from high
> school, or get married and have a family of her own.
> By you sending this to as many people as possible,
> you can give her and her family a little hope,
> because with every name that this is sent to,
> The American Cancer Society
> will donate 3 cents per name to her treatment and recovery plan.
> One guy sent this to 500 people! So I know that we can
> at least send it to 5 or 6 —
> (just think ,it could be you one day).
> It’s not even your money, just your time!
>
> PLEASE PASS ON AS A LAST REQUEST
>
> Dr. Dennis Shields, Professor
> Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology
> 1300 Morris Park Avenue
> Bronx , New York 10461
>
–
Danny Dawson
http://quasistoic.org
khyati, 
Katie, 
Teenqueen and 13 others are discussing. 
kathey benoit, and 
claudine 12:25 pm on Tuesday, December 27, 2005 Permalink
I’d speculate that “raj” is an abbreviation of “maharajah,” but then, I know nothing of ancient or modern Indian language.
hrm…
I’m proud of you for quitting. Congratulations, baby!
Halsted 1:32 pm on Wednesday, December 28, 2005 Permalink
I’m so proud of you for quitting. I’m quitting on the 31st.
(I also really enjoyed this post, word geek that I am. “Raj” and “maharajah” do indeed share the root of “raj” [king]. I have no idea what’s up with PBJ.)
Danny Dawson 3:56 pm on Wednesday, December 28, 2005 Permalink
Thank you both. It means a lot.
Good luck, Halsted! Everyone’s got their own system for quitting. The way I’ve found to be most successful is to view the whole thing as a battle between my will and my desire. I like to consider myself good at self-deprivation, so the whole contest became a matter of pride. The longer I can go without a cigarette, the more proud of myself I’m allowed to be.
I have nightmares some nights where I’ve given in and started smoking again, and then I wake up depressed. It takes me about a half-hour or so before I’m able to convince myself that it was only a dream, and that I’m still allowed to feel proud.
michele 12:13 pm on Thursday, January 12, 2006 Permalink
considering my hatred of smoking and, by extension, smokers, i feel proud to acknowledge you as my friend again.
and also, congratulations.
Chris 9:25 pm on Thursday, October 12, 2006 Permalink
PBJ is decidedly abbreviation, time for a new dictionary, and a peanut butter N jelly sammich!
adam weishaupt 5:01 pm on Sunday, March 4, 2007 Permalink
I thought PBJ was an abbreviation for Pagan Bazaar and Jamboree, but then what do I know?
cate 2:32 am on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Permalink
Good luck with quitting smoking! I quit for 18 years and started again during an ugly divorce. It happened when I said “Oh, just one cigarette.” Don’t do that! I am going to quit again.
Cate
a 5:40 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2007 Permalink
About “Raj”. It’s not an abbreviation:
The term – from the Hindu word for ‘reign’ – is used to describe British sovereignty in India from the mid-18th century until the establishment of the state of India in 1947.
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=raj
I will agree with you on PBJ. Even the entry in the dictionary seems retarded. It’s listed as a noun, pronounced as “pee-bee-jay”. Sigh.
http://www.bartleby.com/61/79/P0127950.html
cancer free 1:15 pm on Wednesday, February 13, 2008 Permalink
We’ll you made the first step by QUITTING. But here’s the real deal. You have to get rid of all the loser friends that smoke around you. Because your’e still breathing that cancer in you body. I carry a squirt gun around and squirt people that are smoking. I squirt their cancer stick. I am 240lbs 6′2 solid. I can get away with it here in Cali. I laugh at people that smoke. It just shows you the kinda losers they are. It’s funny that these are the same idiots that are trying to save trees & whales. But, they sit there and smoke their CANCER.. It tells you on the side of the box, YOU WILL DIE, IF YOU ARE STUIPD ENOUGH TO SMOKE THESE THINGS. Grow up people. It also costs you about $2000.00 a year. Witch you can’t afford anyway. Smoke POT at lease you feel good when you do smoke it.Not only that butt if you smoke and your kids see you, then they think it’s ok. Great role model. Cancer free out!
Elliott 2:00 pm on Monday, October 13, 2008 Permalink
Chill the fuck out, “cancer free”
If people want to smoke they can, it’s their right.
hates cancer free 12:59 pm on Monday, December 29, 2008 Permalink
you sound like a huge prick cancer free. I dare you to squirt my cigarette with your toy you carry around with you. No one cares how big you are, or how forcefully you impose your will on others. Maybe instead of torturing innocent smokers you could pick up a book and learn proper grammar. It’s which not witch, but not butt, and least not lease. I’m gonna light a cigarette and suggest you swallow as many midol as your fat hand can hold and chill the fuck out.
lolliepop 7:10 pm on Friday, March 13, 2009 Permalink
STUPID no words i was looking for !
CouldntResist 6:22 am on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 Permalink
Michele, by extension, you hate smokers, eh? You must be perfect, and I hate that.
Teenqueen 3:13 pm on Sunday, October 4, 2009 Permalink
I love the comments on this page ~ intelligent people play word games ~ and I found HADJ to use on the triple word score so, thanks. Are you still not smoking? I did it, oh gosh, 30 years ago and if someone gave me a cigarette today I would gag on it I am sure and feel sick (just like I did when I smoked my very first cigarette).
Katie 9:30 am on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 Permalink
Hey! I played RAJ last night on the Quad. Letter score!!! We were playing with the deluxe version of scrabble. Needless to say! I came in first! Thanks everyone!
And everyone who is picking on the smokers… it isn’t nice! If you want to help someone quit doing something you need to use encouragement and nice words not negative depraving speech, because it won’t help the person to get yelled at. All they will want to do is punch you in the face. If you are writing on here to help someone then the way to do it is to be nice and gentle about it, not forceful and demeaning. And if you aren’t trying to help them then, you shouldn’t be talking at all.
khyati 1:31 pm on Thursday, February 4, 2010 Permalink
this sucks