Originally written in 1997, this was the content of an email that I wrote to a forlorn young man who I only spoke to once or twice in the Virtual Places chat rooms and who was kind enough to help me learn a thing or two about computers and chat rooms... This was my effort to show him how much I appreciated his help and compassion:

"What is it that compels the tormented human psyche to surrender to these pieces of imagination? Machines? - no. A manifestation of human thought? - without doubt. The Internet is alive with lonely people, in search of someone who wants them if only for a little while, and if they are lucky (?), perhaps that someone will recognize them again if only by a word or two. The souls that linger here, and there, among the silent and unseen waves often remain faceless, but if the heart is pure in the desire to connect, their spirits are clear and vivid. Black Lace Ladies and Shadows lurk in imaginary places, exchanging the recipe to understanding; the coincidences of life become real. Out among the stars, our spirits are free and unburdened by the everyday toils that we set as goals for ourselves. The energy at our finger tips spark the monitors all over the world and bring forth every type of personality that wanders along the soil. Among every mountain range, in every valley, littered over the piedmonts; and, in every nook and cranny of the earth, there are people that need to be wanted, need to be needed, and most of all, need to be loved, respected, or otherwise paid some attention in any form that is available. Our minds grow stronger everyday; our souls grow weaker by the moment....with each click and every keystroke the very essence of our lives is tapped out into the space all around us. Will we become mear shells of former spirits? Will we evolve into only the energy that powers the universe? We are obsessed with each other and with the tools that bring us together. To be denied the opportunity is much like the addiction to anything that will alter the sense of reality.

I bring this to you because I felt the need to acknowledge you in some way. On the other end of this email, I know that there is a living, breathing, thinking, and needful person.....a beating heart. I rejoice in the knowledge that you are there, despite the fact that I dont even know you.....nor do you know me for that matter. If all I have accomplished here is that I have touched you and let you know that you are appreciated for the person that you are, then I have not wasted my time. Each and every one of us, is worthy of acknowledgement.

I wish you joy and happiness...always."