This is about various writings that get turned into internet memes. Often, the authors are stripped of credit in favour of "Anonymous" or an incorrect attribution to someone else.
"Dead At Seventeen" is a poem by John Berrio. Please read more about it in this interesting article.
"The Law Of The Garbage Truck" is a story that was written by David Pollay, self-help author and speaker.
It begins:
"One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport."
The story goes on to describe how another car almost hit them, and from there it makes compare/contrasts with garbage trucks Vs. life, or something to that effect.
I'm really not much into these kinds of stories, since they get re-shared and re-shared, and they are too simplistic and sappy in my opinion. Nevertheless, Mr. Pollay's intent is a good one, he is not a hoaxer, and this particular story was written by him.
So if you get this in a meme without attribution, please reply letting the sharer know who the author of the piece is.
The Room Story Meme
"The Room" was not by Brian Moore, a Christian teenager who died tragically. It was written by Joshua Harris and is part of his book "I Kissed Dating Goodbye"
Brian Moore lied by stealing the credit for it. And this was two years after Joshua Harris had actually written it.
The only reasons people continue being so terribly awe-struck by this kid is because he was a Christian who died young…
Must we keep kicking these old stories around, the true one about Brian's death, and the false one claiming he wrote something he didn't, and the story Joshua Harris actually did write, without Mr. Harris's permission, forever reminding the Moore family about the lie and the loss of a loved one, in a sort of manufactured false tear-jerk inspiration over Brian Moore, who really did exist and really did die, just because Brian Moore was a Christian, even if he did tell a fib? It is cruel. Please, give the Moore family a break, and let the real author keep the credit for his own work.
This and other similar memes aren't fair to other families who never get acknowledged for the things they go through as well.
Many others really exist and really die tragically all the time. The fact is, we can't acknowledge every family and every soul who is effected by profound circumstances. Still, I can't help wondering, why single out some of them to be exploited in memes? Why do we do this?
Virginia *Ginny( Ellis writes poetry, and she encourages the sharing of it as long as she is given due credit, but she did not write anything else that may be included with the re-share such as demands/pleas/urging that it be shared nor negative wishes for not re-sharing.
Angel In Your Pocket is a poem written by Virginia Ellis © 1999
You can find it and other poetry on her web site, the link above, and let your friends who appreciate poetry know about the link instead of re-sharing a meme with a poem in it.
A poem called "The Friend Who Just Stands By" is sometimes circulated in memes.
Its author was William Carlos Williams.
A sappy meme often titled "Crabby Old Man" contains a poem that was ripped off its author, and a fake story woven around it.
The story claims a worthless old man died in a Florida hospital and a touching poem was found in his pocket.
The poem titled Too Soon Old, was written over 30 years ago by Dave Griffith of Fort Worth, Texas. He has written more than 500 poems.
Too Soon Old was meant to be simple and to the point, from youth through old age in his own personal life, high school football, Marines, marriage, the ravages of Griffith's own disabilities.
But it was never found in an old man's pocket in a Florida hospital. Some troll made up that story and lifted the poem for inclusion in the meme.
Kevin Howell wrote a poem called Chain Letter and you can read it on that link, or watch a video on this one.
Tommy, The Atheist Who Found Christ Through Cancer?
Apparently, according to John Powell, who wrote the story about Tommy the atheist who found God, this was a true account.
However, besides the fact that it is yet another hard luck cancer story meme,, the writer was accused of sex abuse, no charges were laid, but whether they were or not, HE ADMITTED TO IT!
So that should be reason enough there not to pass on this dull story about an atheist who was looking and looking for God by the end of the term and couldn't find him until *DONG!* God found him when Tommy got cancer, of course!
ARGH!
Personally, I'm happy for Tommy in his afterlife if he really did find God, but there are all sorts of other less dreary routes to finding God or anything else that's a significant change in one's beliefs.
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