â™–Meme: Psalm 55:22
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Don't bring scripture into this!
Yes, God takes care of you, but not via chain letter.
â™–Meme: --- you really need to read this.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: What nerve, telling me what I 'need' to read. No, this meme needs to be mangled, by a Christian, because practically no one else dares.
â™–Meme: "Friends are God's way of taking care of us." This was written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician:
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Is that the best you can do for a reference? You think it'll sound better if you claim it was a quote from a hospice physician? think again. Somehow I doubt anyone who really thinks about what they're saying, would've written that, especially a hospice worker. Friends don't "take care of" you, they give you support, only some of the time, I might add.
Furthermore, what if one doesn't even have friends living close enough by? So much for being around to take care of each other, eh? No, God basically made the human race as a social species, that's pretty common knowledge. But anyway, just don't bring God into this meme.
â™–Meme: I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd.,
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Oh, great, here we go with another intentionally emotionally riveting story that is most likely contrived, probably all out bogus.
â™–Meme: and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: And plenty of time to dream up this chain letter to knock readers right out with an emotional sucker punch.
â™–Meme: It wouldn't even turn over.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Giving you one more detail you'd be sure to include in this tale.
â™–Meme: Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the "quickie mart " building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a Gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: So? It's only what any decent person would do.
â™–Meme: When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen;
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Oh, for the love, not with the water works again. Lemme guess. Cancer. Or poverty. Or her dog died. attempted suicide. Some favourite emotional walloping device of these glurge chain letters.
â™–Meme: she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Probably a pregnant Debbie Schwartz again.
â™–Meme: She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Which is probably all the money she has to her name... Yeah, you're not making me cry, though I know you're trying' real hard, which just irritates the heck out of me instead.
â™–Meme: At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Sounds like Debbie Schwartz to me.
â™–Meme: I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying " don't want my kids to see me crying," so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Headdesk* Oh, for goodness sake just stow it already. She's no hero and neither are you. This is all a big emotion-yank and you and your sad lady are trying it on the wrong person.
â™–Meme: She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, "And you were praying?" That made her back a away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, "He heard you, and He sent me."
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: *Facepalm* Don't - even - go - there! Do *NOT* bring God into this!
And seriously what kind of arrogant twist actually has the ego to say to somebody they're helping "Lookies, I'm not crazy. God sent me to help *YOU*!" You remind me of the creepy dude in that Kyle chain letter. *Rolling eyes* So do yourself a favour as well as everyone else and shut up while you're ahead.
Here's a hint on who God sends. That is usually determined by the recipient of the help or favour, not the one who volunteers the help or favour.
â™–Meme: I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fuelling, walked to the next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: You do realize you could've been taken, you know. she could've just got in the car and sped off. She could've robbed you, taken your card. She could've refused your offer to pay for a meal for the kids. You should've bought the meal first, then maybe after that, offered to help her out with the gas.
But she seems to be in real trouble, now, I said, 'seems'. Because in this chain letter, the real target isn't you, you're meant to get a load of "Oh, amazing! Touching" and the like while Debbie gets the sympathy. so Debbie isn't there to rob you. For the purpose of this chain letter, you and she are in cahoots to catch some big emotional suckers, in this case, you're trying for me. And I'm not buying.
â™–Meme: She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City Her boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan 1, and finally in desperation had finally called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Hmm, Wow that Debbie's story just gets more and more pathetic all the time, doesn't it?
â™–Meme: So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: *Sigh* Oh, right, gotta get that Christmas angst thing going..... *Rolling eyes* And so to sum it all up, you just happened to have a big fortune, and somehow you managed to fix it so Debbie and company could go back to Kansas after Christmas instead, to their forever home, because you're awesome like that...
â™–Meme: I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: So then you were left without a pair of gloves. You know, anybody could just come along and use the heck out of you. All they have to do is conscript some kids, do a spectacular lip stand, turn on the crocodile tears, tell you a sob story, and next thing you'd probably hand over your coat and wallet, too.
â™–Meme: As I was walking over to my car, she said, "So, are you like an angel or something?"
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: *Cringe* Oh, gag me! Again with the freaking chain letter angels!
Want to see how especially annoying chain letter angels are?
â™–Meme: This definitely made me cry.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Because you're so incredibly easy to heart-yank and any corny flattery just makes you melt.
Not me.
â™–Meme: I said, "Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy,
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Oh, for goodness sakes! Since when did you get a copy of an angel's schedule? You might talk down to a kindergartener that way, but then again, neither you nor Debbie Schwartz are going for grown up. What a bunch of phoney patronizing crap!
â™–Meme: so sometimes God uses regular people."
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: *Scowl* Don't bring God into this! This is about some meme creator using emotional soft spots to get regular people to spread this chain letter under the impression that it is "inspirational" or some such crud.
Won't work here.
â™–Meme: It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Not a "miracle". Debbie told you a sob story and you bought her kids a meal and her some gas. Any fool with the means could manage that. If I believed Debbie's sob story, I'd call what you did charity, but not a miracle. You just got took.
â™–Meme: And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no problem.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: So, inexplicably boom! Debbie somehow fixed your car while telling you her sob story and taking your charity. Yeah right. Your car was just having a bad car day. I don't consider it suddenly shaping up to be a "miracle" either. It's just one of those things that happens.
â™–Meme: I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Maybe, maybe not. whatever. I don't care.
â™–Meme: Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter of their wings...
🧝‍♀️Ocean Elf: Clue, neither you nor Debbie are angels. Get over yourselves already! Heck, neither of you even stuffed the wings in the back of your dress like the chain letter angel in the pink dress did. The wings you hear are probably just pigeons anyway.
Over and out.
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