I just received an email from my Grandmother. It was a forwarded email from my bible thumping cousin. Fortunately, it had all of the email addresses still in the header when it got around to my inbox.
I hit Reply All and then copied and pasted all of the other email addresses into the CC box.
More after the orange jumper:
First the original missive, it's called THE SNEEZE.
SNEEZE
They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With their rich maroon gowns flowing .... and the traditional caps, they looked almost .. as grown up as they felt.
Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears.
This class would NOT pray during the commencements----not by choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it.
The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the20graduates or their families.
The speeches were nice, but they were routine.....until the final speech received a standing ovation.
A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then, it happened.
All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED!!!!
The student on stage.. simply looked at the audience and said, 'GOD BLESS YOU, each and every one of you!' And he walked off stage...
The audience exploded into applause. This graduating class had found a unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with or without the court's approval.
Isn't this a wonderful story? GOD BLESS YOU!!!!
This is a true story; it happened at the University of Maryland .
Oh my God! It says it's a true story so it must be true. But then something caught my eye, since when does The University of Maryland only have 92 students at a commencement ceremony. So I went to snopes and discovered that .. well, it is based on a true story. Sure enough, they have an account of what actually happened. It turns out that it took place in Illinois and at a High School. A student had his friends say "God Bless You" in unison when prompted by a fake sneeze that he made when he arrived upon the podium to speak. I wanted to let all of the people who had read this email know exactly what went on because as we all know, the truth will set you free. My reply:
Hi "Reply All" people,
I think it’s a more compelling story of student activism when THE SNEEZE is told truthfully. When it’s rehashed to make it appear to be a miracle, it diminishes the students and all of their hard work to nothing more than ooga-booga. If the students at Washington Community High School in Washington, Illinois object to the establishment clause of the United States Constitution, they are free to change it through the processes set forth by the founding fathers of the United States of America. I also find it rather ironic that the God fearing person who altered the account of THE SNEEZE felt the need to lie to make his or her point. I was under the impression that it was a sin to lie.
God Bless You,
and signed my me. I also included ( like I did here ) a link to the Snopes article.
I think that sometimes, we need to "Reply All"